Inside Rikers Island: The grim jail where Trump most likely to be held if caged

Trump allegedly conspired with six others to spread misinformation about a ‘stolen’ election (Image: Getty Images) Footage shows people in custody carrying an unresponsive individual to the bottom tier (Image: NYC Board of Correction) Former President Donald Trump could be facing several years behind bars if found guilty of the charges brought against him surrounding the 6 January 2021 riots at the US Capitol. The Republican politician denies wrongdoing and has described the case as ‘ridiculous’. He has already been charged in two other cases – with mishandling classified files and falsifying business records to cover up a hush-money payment to a porn star. And if Trump, who is 77, is jailed over these claims then he will most likely end up at Rikers Island jail – which is known for its grim conditions and houses some of New York’s most notorious criminals. Jonathan Entin, a professor at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, said it is most likely for Trump to end up at the infamous facility based on where his trial will be heard. As a former President – who recently announced his 2024 campaign, Trump gets lifetime protection by the Secret Service and would have two members of the agency sitting outside of his 10 by seven ft cell. Speaking to Daily Express US, Entin said: ‘Trump going to prison could set up a constitutional crisis, as nothing like this has ever happened before.’ Rikers Island jail has made the headlines over the years for its dire conditions, including prisoners being left to sit in their feces, overdosing, and being detained in shower stalls. Washington DC locked down Capitol after active shooter alert near Senate Fire-singed trash and stagnant water in the Enhanced Supervision Housing unit (Image: NYC Board of Correction) The prison has been slammed for its poor conditions (Image: NYC Board of Correction) Several images and videos show incarcerated people attempting to get aid for sick or unresponsive prisoners, with prison officers apparently not present or involved. Another image shows a person standing in a decontamination shower stall, intended to be used to wash off chemical spray used to break up fights between prisoners. The prison complex is one of the largest and most expensive in the United States, according to data from NYC Open Data . Mike Lawlor, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of New Haven, told DailyMail.com earlier this year: ‘Depending on the length of the sentence if it is relatively short, less than a few years, he will serve it on Rikers Island in New York. ‘Because of his age, he could end up in the infirmary facility because he could have a variety of health issues and we are sure he has some. ‘It is not a complicated thing to happen, but it is sensational. It would be relatively easy to accomplish. A makeshift laundry unit in the prison (Image: NYC Board of Correction) A person in custody was held in a decontamination shower for an extended period of time (Image: NYC Board of Correction) ‘Trump would have protective custody and would probably have a 1-1 status which is usually reserved for suicidal prisoners. ‘He would have one or two secret service details sitting outside his cell with the correctional officers. ‘It is what the Secret Service does anyway, just in a different setting. I’m sure there would be a screening of who had access to him and who came in or out of that particular unit. ‘There will be no special treatment or privilege for a former politician. He is just like everybody else, will be subject to strip searches, have a prison uniform bed which is not comfortable and if and when incarcerated, he will have to deal with it. ‘I don’t think they’ll make an exception for him. He’s the one who in front of a bunch of cops said don’t be too nice to these guys when you arrest them.’ Trump is due to appear in court in Washington DC on Thursday. It is not clear as yet whether he will appear in person or remotely. Ailing exterior infrastructure (Image: NYC Board of Correction) If sent down, he would be put into ‘protective custody’ for his own safety (Image: NYC Board of Correction) The judge assigned to oversee the case, Tanya Chutkan, is an Obama appointee, known to be a tough sentencer in other 6 January cases. Trump is also facing jail terms of up to 20 years in the classified documents case. Under US law, nothing prevents an individual from running for office if they are facing criminal charges, or even if they are in jail. Of course that doesn’t mean that voters would want to support such a candidate. According to Entin, at least two people have previously run for president with criminal convictions. He added: “As for running a presidential campaign from prison, we do have precedent. Eugene Debs was the Socialist Party’s candidate in the 1920 election while serving a prison sentence related to a speech criticizing American involvement in World War I that he had m Canton, Ohio. And he did surprisingly well for a third-party candidate. “James Michael Curley got reelected to the Boston City Council in 1904 while serving a sentence for fraud – the fraud was that he had taken a civil service exam for one of his constituents – and that in 1962 a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives named Charles Iannello was reelected while serving a sentence for corruption – the main consequence of which was that it tanked the career of a promising young politician named Christopher Iannella.” Follow our social media accounts here on facebook.com/ExpressUSNews and @expressusnews