Following altercation, movement restricted at Anamosa prison for 2nd time in a week

ANAMOSA - An Anamosa State Penitentiary living unit was placed on restricted movement today following a physical altercation involving five inmates.

It was the second time authorities restricted movement at the prison in less than a week.

The second incident occurred at around 12:15 p.m., today, and the living unit where the incident occurred was placed on 'restrictive movement status while an investigation is conducted,” said Cord Overton, spokesman for the Iowa Department of Corrections. Overton noted staff acted quickly to bring the situation under control, and no serious injuries have been reported.

This comes days after a physical altercation between 22 inmates on Thursday morning. Investigators will consider whether the two incidents are connected, Overton said.

The first incident occurred around 7:44 a.m. and lasted about 73 seconds, the agency reported at the time. No staff was injured and the inmates involved had no serious injuries.

The incident resulted in the penitentiary being placed on restricted movement and the closure of the visiting room. That incident remains under investigation, Overton said.

The facility was back to normal movement operations this morning, he said.

Overton defined restrictive movement as when inmates are 'under very controlled movement schedules, and often confined to their cells or housing units.”

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