Federal judge finds DC jail warden in contempt, demands DOJ civil rights probe of Jan. 6 detainees

A federal judge has found the warden of a D.C. jail and the director of the D.C. Department of Corrections in contempt of court Wednesday and called for an investigation by the Department of Justice to determine whether the jail has violated the civil rights of Jan. 6 defendants.

"I find that the civil rights of the defendant have been abused," Lamberth, a Reagan appointee, said at the hearing. "I don’t know if it’s because he’s a January 6th defendant or not, but I find this matter should be referred to the attorney general of the United States for a civil rights investigation into whether the D.C. Department of Corrections is violating the civil rights of January 6th defendants ... in this and maybe other cases."

Christopher Worrell, the defendant in the specific case who is being charged with several felonies related to the January 6th riot, is being treated for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and has contracted the coronavirus while in jail. Worrell broke his hand in jail in May and was recommended to have surgery in June but in August his lawyers say jail officials have not addressed the injury and have only provided Tylenol and other anti-inflammatories.