Stephanie Hartman, spokeswoman for the Florida Division of Emergency Management, which operates "Alligator Alcatraz," told The Guardian on Friday that reports of an uprising there are manufactured.
"There is no uprising happening at Alligator Alcatraz. Detainees are given clean, safe living conditions, and guards are properly trained on all state and federal protocols," she said.
Detainees at the state-run immigration detention center, which was ordered closed last week by a federal judge's order, told Univision 23 that there was a riot at the lockup and that at least four detainees were injured.
They also said guards used tear gas to control the situation.
"People started screaming because a relative had died, and they started shouting for freedom. At that moment, a prison team came in and started beating everyone. Right now, it's unrest and, well, we have the helicopter overhead. Everyone here has been beaten up, many people have bled, brother, tear gas, we are immigrants, we are not criminals, we are not murderers," said one of the alleged detainees.
Another said, "There are helicopters up above and a lot of people are bleeding."
The lockup was rapidly constructed and opened on July 1 with the goal of holding up to 3,000 detainees as part of President Donald Trump's push to deport people who are in the U.S. illegally.
At one point, it held almost 1,000 detainees. Three lawsuits challenging practices at the detention center have been filed, including one that estimated at least 100 detainees who had been held there have been deported. Others have been transferred to other immigration detention centers.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.