Thomas Woodworth Biography
Thomas Woodworth is a captain at Wyatt Detention Facility who drove his pickup truck into anti-ICE protesters led by the Jewish group Never Again Action at the Rhode Island federal prison. They were protesting the prison’s practice of holding detainees for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He has been placed on leave amid an investigation into his actions.
Thomas Woodworth Age
Woodworth is 53 years old.
Thomas Woodworth Drove Into Anti-ICE Protesters
Thomas Woodworth has been identified as the Rhode Island correctional officer who allegedly driving rammed into peaceful protesters on Wednesday night outside the Wyatt Detention Center, a Rhode Island prison that contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The Jewish activists were rallying outside the center as part of a larger effort to shut down immigrant detention centers nationwide. The protestors were blocking the entrance to a parking lot when Woodworth rammed into them.
The protestors identified him as the man who was driving the black truck that was involved in the incident.
This is the prison guard who drove his truck into a group of peaceful protestors pic.twitter.com/lwjhaMKECL
— Sam Eilertsen ?✡️ (@SamEilertsen) August 15, 2019
The protest was organized by the Jewish activist group Never Again Action who shared a video of the incidence which shows a driver pressing the horn as he pulls up to a line of activists blocking the entrance to the detention facility in Central Falls. The group stands up as he gets even closer. The driver is then seen accelerating into a line of people, as protesters can be heard screaming. A crowd quickly surrounds the car as it slows down and shouts “shame.”
BREAKING: Here is HD video of an ICE guard driving his truck into us as we sat peacefully blocking the Wyatt Detention Center.
We’re putting our bodies on the line because we see the camps and the roundups. We’ve learned from our ancestors: NEVER AGAIN FOR ANYONE. pic.twitter.com/KnOu5xoOEb
— ✡️ Never Again Action ✡️ (@NeverAgainActn) August 15, 2019
BREAKING: Tonight we experienced a tiny sample of the violence ICE uses on our immigrant neighbors every day. An ICE guard drove his truck into our peaceful #JewsAgainstICE protest, then other guards came out and pepper sprayed the crowd.
We’ll be back. https://t.co/jhYh0orOIQ pic.twitter.com/8Q5d9N1yGy
— ✡️ Never Again Action ✡️ (@NeverAgainActn) August 15, 2019
Thomas Woodworth Victims
According to Matt Harvey, Never Again Action spokesperson and organizer five people were taken to the hospital. He said he “was about 30 feet to the right of the truck” when it drove into civilians: “Far enough away to not have to scatter but close enough to be startled.” He added that two of the five injured people sustained injuries related to the collision. One man in his sixties was left with a broken leg. He says another three, including one woman in her seventies, were admitted to the hospital for injuries related to pepper spray.
Thomas Woodworth Has Been Placed on Leave
The Wyatt Detention Facility confirmed that Captain Thomas Woodworth had been placed on administrative leave “pending the results of an independent investigation being conducted by the Rhode Island State Police,” as well as an internal investigation.
Thomas Woodworth Is Being Investigated
The Rhode Island State Police and the state Attorney General’s Office confirmed that they are investigating the events. The press release by the Attorney General read;
“This Office, working with the Rhode Island State Police, is investigating what transpired last night at the Wyatt Detention Center in Central Falls. Once we have a full understanding of the relevant facts, we will determine how to proceed. Peaceful protest is a fundamental right of all Americans; it is unfortunate last night’s situation unfolded as it did. We urge all to exercise restraint as our investigation proceeds.”
When Kristy dosReis, spokeswoman for the state attorney general’s office was asked whether Thomas Woodworth was an employee of Wyatt Detention Facility he said that their investigation is “still in the early stages and we are not prepared to draw any factual or legal conclusions at this time.”
The Wyatt Detention Center added in a statement that the organization is “conducting a top to bottom review of the incident, Wyatt correctional officers’ response and the Wyatt’s protocols regarding protest activities outside of the facility. The Wyatt supports the First Amendment right of citizens to peacefully protest on public property surrounding the facility, and the First Amendment right of journalists to report on the facility.”
Thomas Woodworth Excessive Force Lawsuit
In 2007, while working as a correctional officer for the state of Connecticut Department of Corrections, he was named in a federal lawsuit filed by a Connecticut inmate alleging excessive force during a 2005 incident. The lawsuit was eventually dismissed, but a federal judge did not rule on the validity of the accusations. At the time of the 2005 incidence, he was a lieutenant at the Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Center.
According to the lawsuit he was one of the 15 DOC employees named in the lawsuit by inmate William Hamilton, who said guards used excessive force against him after finding contraband in his cell.
