Detainees Describe Mutiny At 'Alligator Alcatraz' Including Tear Gas And Four Injured

Four migrants detained in the Florida center known as "Alligator Alcatraz" claim there was a mutiny at the facility that resulted in four injuries, according to a new report.

Inmates and some of their family members told Univision that guards ended up launching gas canisters to control the situation.

"People started screaming because the family member of an inmate had died, so they started demanding to be released. Then, a group of guards entered the premises and started beating everyone," alleged inmates told the outlet.

"They beat up everyone, a lot of people have bled. We're immigrants, we're not criminals, we're not killers," the detainee added.

The alleged incident took place as authorities appear to move towards shutting down the facility. Florida Gov. Ron DeSatnis acknowledged that detainees are being rapidly moved out of the controversial Everglades detention center, but attributed the development to federal deportations rather than the court order mandating its closure.

Speaking after emails surfaced showing that Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie expected the facility to be "down to 0 individuals within a few days," DeSantis said the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was responsible for the shift and all but confirmed the facility's imminent closure.

"I think he was just referring to they're deporting them very quickly, and that's a good thing," DeSantis said, according to The Washington Post. We don't determine who goes into the facility. Who they send in or don't send in is on their decision."

DeSantis also said the "rapid removals from Alligator Alcatraz" by the Department of Homeland Security may be a result of the court ruling passed by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams, which require Florida authorities to begin dismantling parts of the Alligator Alcatraz facility—including temporary fencing, lighting, and generators—within 60 days.

DHS confirmed to The Washington Post that detainees are being removed and transferred to other facilities, citing compliance with Judge Williams' ruling, while continuing to pursue deportations "at turbo speed." DHS spokesman Nathaniel Madden also took a jab at Williams, who he called an "activist judge", adding that the agency "will continue to fight tooth-and-nail to remove the worst of the worst from American streets."

At its peak in July, the temporary facility held about 1,400 people. The camp was constructed in eight days at a cost exceeding $218 million, with state records reviewed by the Associated Press showing total contracts worth more than $245 million already signed. Critics argued that the rushed project bypassed environmental safeguards and made it nearly impossible for detainees to access attorneys.