Whistleblower outs racist, misogynistic Instagram page at California federal prison

VICTORVILLE, Calif. - WARNING: This article contains social media posts from correctional officers that are racist, misogynistic and offensive.

A whistleblower is outing a racist and misogynistic Instagram page that mocks women getting sexually assaulted at the federal prison in Dublin, female officers sleeping their way to the top and Black men in custody getting thrown in solitary for fun, among other posts. 

The whistleblower, whom KTVU is allowing to remain anonymous because that person fears retribution, wrote the Internal Affairs division of the Bureau of Prisons this month, telling them that they believe the author of the page, "Good Verbal," works at the Federal Correctional Center in Victorville in Central California, based on the private jokes and inside knowledge of the posts. 

The whistleblower asked that IA investigators find out who exactly is behind the page, discipline that person and ultimately shut the page down. 

"I refuse to work in a dangerous environment and be subjected to this type of treatment by alleged fellow staff members," the letter to Internal Affairs read. "I am one of many people that are the targets of these nasty and highly offensive posts. It should also be noted that other institutions in various regions across the county are affected by this disgusting page. This page has the potential to turn into a national law enforcement issue."

The whistleblower added: "Please address this issue before things get out of hand. I refuse to allow a bully to win. This page has crossed the line and there is no justification for it." 

KTVU spoke to four sources, all confirming their belief that the author of the page works at FCC Victorville in San Bernardino County. All of them also painted a picture of a hostile and toxic work environment at the prison where pictures of a Black officer has been drawn with a noose and a gay officer had red lipstick drawn on his photograph, which hung in the hallway for a while. 

The Victorville prison is just one of the nation's federal prisons embroiled in controversy over corruption, criminal misconduct, staffing crisis, inmate escapes and sexual abuse. 

'Reprehensible posts' 

In a statement sent to KTVU on Tuesday, Bureau of Prisons Office of Public Affairs spokesperson Emery Nelson said the agency does not discuss potential allegations of staff misconduct, and would not confirm or deny the existence of any investigation into the Instagram page. 

However, Nelson wrote: "As an agency, we believe the posts shared in your inquiry are reprehensible.  If this matter is linked to a Bureau of Prisons employee, we will fervently pursue all actions in accordance with policy and law."  

As Department of Justice employees, Nelson continued, "it is expected that BOP staff refrain from making comments that can be perceived as showing prejudice based on race, gender, sexual orientation, or any other protected bases."  Nelson added that employees may also not engage in anonymous online activity, or use a pseudonym, to engage this type of conduct, either. 

Good Verbal page mocks sexual assaults at FCI Dublin

As the whistleblower described, the Good Verbal IG posts are "littered with highly offense material" including edited video scenes from the "Orange in the New Black," a Netflix series that describes the illegal relationships between correctional officers and incarcerated women.  

In a sarcastic tone, the author wrote in captions on the video: "The finale of our three part series of FCI Dublin shenanigans, we see this CO get arrested. This has been a cautionary tale of what NOT to do. Friends don't let friends work at all women camps. LOL." One of the hashtags on the post is #keepitinyourpants. Another is #PREA, which stands for Prison Rape Elimination Act, a law that is supposed to protect women from sexual harm in custody. 

The post is a direct mockery of what's been happening at the all-women's prison in Dublin, where five officers, including the ex-warden, have been charged with the sexual abuse of a ward. 

More charges were added on Tuesday against Ray J. Garcia, alleging he had sex with at least three incarcerated women when he was warden. 

In another post, the Good Verbal author mocks a female officer sleeping her way to the top. 

It reads, "Respect to the women who did whatever they had to do, to get into non custody," and shows a picture of a large-breasted woman in a low cut dress smiling into the camera. 

The author knows particular details about this officer and wove them into his post.

KTVU is not identifying the particular features to protect the identity of the female officer.

But the female officer told KTVU that only someone who knows her personally or who follows her on social media feeds would know these things about her. 

There are several racist posts, too. 

One reads, "It's all fun and games," and shows officers pinning a Black man down on the ground. 

Another post shows a Black man behind bars with the heading, "That one inmate on spice," which is a concoction of psychoactive drugs. 

The post reads: "We have all seen it. The already crazy inmate, now on spice. Watch yo kids, watch yo wife, they out here f*cking up everything (sic)." 

And it's not just the Good Verbal page that is hosting racist jokes and comments.

The whistleblower sent KTVU several screenshots from private Facebook groups for federal correctional officers with posts that mock the Obamas and former President Bill Clinton, and that make disparaging comments about Latinos.

And in one particular private Facebook group for Victorville correctional officers, someone uploaded a picture of a Ku Klux Klan member, with the inference that if you want to prevent getting COVID, you should cover your head in a white hood. 

"Trying to be safe at the store," the post reads. "And everyone gets upset. 

Payouts over sex harassment claims

In 2017, the Bureau of Prisons paid $20 million to female employees at the Coleman Correctional Complex in Miami, Florida, to settle a sex discrimination case, who claimed they were regularly subjected to lewd and threatening speech and their supervisors failed to take action.

And in 2019, the BOP agreed to pay $11 million to settle a sexual harassment claim from women who sued FCC Victorville. 

Those settlements alone should put the agency on notice to shut any gender discrimination down, the whistleblower noted in his letter to Internal Affairs. 

Don Shults, the past president of the correctional officer's union at FCC Victorville and the current Fair Practice Coordinator, is also aware of the Instagram page and wants whoever is behind it to stop.

Shults told KTVU that the entire culture at this prison can be dangerous, especially for Black officers and inmates and he personally knows four colleagues who have been suffering in drug and alcohol rehab. The suicide rate among officers at FCC Victorville is also very high, he noted. 

Mocking someone's ethnicity or gender is not appropriate in any workplace setting, Shults said, and he believes that employees, even union members, should be disciplined, for this unwanted behavior. 

The union should embrace people's differences, Shults said, not attack them. 

"I want the person behind this to be held accountable," Shults said. "This is a stain on our profession." 

WARNING: These posts from private correctional officers' Facebook groups show racist images. 

This story was reported in Oakland, Calif.

Lisa Fernandez is a reporter for KTVU. Email Lisa at lisa.fernandez@fox.com or call her at 510-874-0139. Or follow her on Twitter @ljfernandez 

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