Security jitters ahead of Joe Biden’s inauguration Wednesday have sparked a lockdown at every federal prison in the country.

The shutdown at more than 120 federal Bureau of Prisons facilities took effect Saturday as a “precautionary” measure, the agency said in a statement.

“There is no specific information that triggered this decision. This action is precautionary, and is not in response to any significant events occurring inside our facilities,” the BOP said.

Shane Fausey, the president of the Council of Prison Locals, wrote in an email to staff that inmates should still be given access in small groups to showers, phones and email and can still be involved in preparing food and performing basic maintenance, according to the Associated Press.

Faucey did not immediately respond to a Daily News request for comment.

a sign in the middle of a field: File photo, the federal prison complex in Terre Haute, Ind. All federal prisons in the United States have been placed on lockdown, with officials aiming to quell any potential violence that could arise behind bars as law enforcement prepares for potentially violent protests across the country in the run-up to President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration on Wednesday. © Michael Conroy File photo, the federal prison complex in Terre Haute, Ind. All federal prisons in the United States have been placed on lockdown, with officials aiming to quell any potential violence that could arise behind bars as law enforcement prepares for potentially violent protests across the country in the run-up to President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration on Wednesday.

File photo, the federal prison complex in Terre Haute, Ind. All federal prisons in the United States have been placed on lockdown, with officials aiming to quell any potential violence that could arise behind bars as law enforcement prepares for potentially violent protests across the country in the run-up to President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration on Wednesday. (Michael Conroy/)


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The BOP last placed prisons on a nationwide lockdown in April in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19. Social visits resumed in October, but many facilities have canceled them again in the latest virus spike.

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A lockdown means that prisoners are kept in their cells most of the day, and that visiting is canceled.

New York’s four stand-alone federal prisons are Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan, the Federal Correctional Institution in Otisville and the Federal Correctional Institution in Ray Brook.

“In light of current events occurring around the country, and out of an abundance of caution, the decision has been made to secure all institutions,” the BOP’s statement said. “This measure is being taken to maintain the security and orderly running of our institutions, as well as to ensure the continued safety of staff, inmates, and the public.

“In securing the facilities, the hope is that this prudent measure is for a short period and that operations will be restored to their prior status as soon as practical.”

The bureau is moving some of its Special Operations Response Teams from prison facilities to Washington, D.C. to bolster security after pro-Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

With News Wire Services

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