At least two guards were held hostage at Tennessee’s largest prison when inmates rioted late Sunday, authorities said.
The hostages were released after the riot was contained at around 1 a.m. Monday, officials said. Several guards were taken to the hospital, including one whose clothes were stripped off during the riot at the Trousdale Turner Correctional Center in Hartsville, sheriff’s officials told WKRN-TV.
CoreCivic, the company that operates the private facility, said it began when several inmates refused to return to their cells. They locked three guards in the building, took over a control room, and released 100 prisoners into the yard, Trousdale County Sheriff Ray Russell told reporters at a press conference. Some set fires in trash cans and damaged security cameras. CoreCivic said three inmates were treated for minor injuries.
About 100 law enforcement officials from surrounding counties and the Tennessee Highway Patrol responded, the Trousdale County Sheriff’s Department said. About 75 state troopers, including negotiators and special operations unit personnel, secured the perimeter, and the Tennessee Department of Corrections was also on the scene. It was over by about 1 a.m. after officers used teargas to force them back inside. All inmates were accounted for after a headcount on Monday morning, authorities said.
“TTCC leadership worked closely with TDOC throughout the incident. Chemical agents were deployed in accordance with department protocol,” CoreCivic said in a statement obtained by WKRN. “The facility is on lockdown until further notice while we investigate this incident in conjunction with our TDOC partners.”
The incident occurred a day after two inmates allegedly assaulted an officer at the prison, WSMV-TV reported.
Last August, the U.S. Department of Justice launched a civil investigation into alleged conditions at the prison, which The Tennessean reports is chronically understaffed and plagued by violence. Legislation to penalize the company for excessive deaths at its facilities has passed through the state legislature in April and was signed by Gov. Lee last month.
CoreCivic, which operates four of the state’s 14 prisons, “is committed to providing high quality, compassionate treatment to all those in our care,” the private company’s website says.
https://www.nydailynews.com/2025/06/09/two-guards-held-hostage-released-tennessee-prison-riot/