Six inmates have been charged in an unusual case involving an uprising at the Utah State Prison.
They were cited under Utah's little-used riot law. Participating in a riot is a third-degree felony if significant damage is done to a building or another person.Prison spokesman Jesse Gallegos said the March 1 incident was more of a protest but declined to say what the inmates were protesting.
Documents filed in 3rd District Court Tuesday stated that the group was armed with dangerous weapons, flooded the floors, tore phones from the wall, broke sprinklers and destroyed other personal property. The tumultuous activity occurred in the prison's Uinta unit and lasted for several hours, court documents state.
Gallegos said the prison's "A-Team," a SWAT-like group, was called in to quell the uprising.
"These things sort of go in waves," Gallegos said.
Besides riot, a third-degree felony, all six were charged with damaging a jail, also a third-degree felony. One inmate, a 24-year-old who was in prison on drug charges, was set to be released May 11. He now faces an additional zero to five years in prison for each charge.