Activists Accuse D.C. Mayor Bowser of Human Rights Abuses over Coronavirus Jail Policy

Activists with the group "Anacostia Conservative Coalition" held a news conference Tuesday to protest D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and what they are calling human rights abuses of inmates who were held in near-solitary confinement at the D.C. jail during the coronavirus pandemic. For almost 400 days straight, 1,500 people at the D.C. jail were locked in their cells for 23 hours a day to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the Washington Post reported in April 2021. In May, officials announced they would ease restrictions, but only for inmates who are vaccinated against the coronavirus.