Ben Conarck
@conarck.bsky.social
reporting on immigration enforcement, prisons, jails and police for The Baltimore Banner • tips to bconarck @thebaltimorebanner.com
Reposted by Ben Conarck
Washington County declares support for proposed ICE detention facility near Hagerstown
Washington County declares its support for ICE detention facility outside Hagerstown
Washington County commissioners declared support for the conversion of a sprawling warehouse outside Hagerstown into a proposed federal immigration detention facility on Tuesday.
buff.ly
February 10, 2026 at 3:00 PM
Washington County declares support for proposed ICE detention facility near Hagerstown
Breaking: In Western Maryland, Washington Co. commissioners declared their support for the conversion of a sprawling warehouse into an ICE detention facility, in spite of protests inside/outside the hearing room and opposition from the state's two U.S. senators. www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...
Washington County declares its support for ICE detention facility outside Hagerstown
Washington County commissioners declared support for the conversion of a sprawling warehouse outside Hagerstown into a proposed federal immigration detention facility on Tuesday.
www.thebanner.com
February 10, 2026 at 2:53 PM
Breaking: In Western Maryland, Washington Co. commissioners declared their support for the conversion of a sprawling warehouse into an ICE detention facility, in spite of protests inside/outside the hearing room and opposition from the state's two U.S. senators. www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...
Few people irritate me as much as the Temu John Prine guy on Instagram
February 1, 2026 at 5:38 PM
Few people irritate me as much as the Temu John Prine guy on Instagram
Reposted by Ben Conarck
Nearly 1 in 4 people killed by Maryland police was in mental health crisis, AG finds
Nearly 1 in 4 people killed by Maryland police was in mental health crisis, AG finds
Since 2021, the Maryland Office of the Attorney General has reviewed 86 cases in which someone was killed by police — and 20 of those cases involved mental health crises, according to a report released...
buff.ly
January 30, 2026 at 1:26 AM
Nearly 1 in 4 people killed by Maryland police was in mental health crisis, AG finds
New: Since 2021, the Maryland Office of the Attorney General has reviewed 86 cases in which someone was killed by police or died during a police response — and 20 of those cases involved mental health crises, according to a report released Thursday. www.thebanner.com/community/cr...
Nearly 1 in 4 people killed by Maryland police was in mental health crisis, AG finds
Since 2021, the Maryland Office of the Attorney General has reviewed 86 cases in which someone was killed by police — and 20 of those cases involved mental health crises, according to a report release...
www.thebanner.com
January 30, 2026 at 12:04 AM
New: Since 2021, the Maryland Office of the Attorney General has reviewed 86 cases in which someone was killed by police or died during a police response — and 20 of those cases involved mental health crises, according to a report released Thursday. www.thebanner.com/community/cr...
New: Baltimore Police are on track to scale back more federal oversight after a judge recognized improvements to the hiring/retention processes and a transformation of the agency's technical capabilities (records management, body cams and early-intervention systems) www.thebanner.com/community/cr...
Federal oversight expected to scale back after Baltimore stabilizes police staffing
The Baltimore Police Department got a preliminary green light from the judge overseeing its federally mandated reforms that it's on track to shed mandates for recruitment/hiring and technology.
www.thebanner.com
January 29, 2026 at 6:45 PM
New: Baltimore Police are on track to scale back more federal oversight after a judge recognized improvements to the hiring/retention processes and a transformation of the agency's technical capabilities (records management, body cams and early-intervention systems) www.thebanner.com/community/cr...
New: Washington Co. officials say there is nothing they can do to stop the federal government from building a sprawling immigration detention facility in Western Maryland. It could provide ICE with a long-desired foothold in the region to surge the area w/ arrests. www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...
Washington County says feds’ plan for immigration detention near Hagerstown cannot be stopped
The federal government moved quickly over the last month to establish a foothold in Maryland, notifying Washington County officials of its intentions just days before inking the deed giving it full ow...
www.thebanner.com
January 28, 2026 at 11:00 PM
New: Washington Co. officials say there is nothing they can do to stop the federal government from building a sprawling immigration detention facility in Western Maryland. It could provide ICE with a long-desired foothold in the region to surge the area w/ arrests. www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...
Reposted by Ben Conarck
Feds purchase warehouse near Hagerstown, fueling talk of immigration detention center
Feds purchase warehouse near Hagerstown, fueling talk of detention center
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has inked a deal to purchase a warehouse just outside Hagerstown for $102.4 million.
buff.ly
January 27, 2026 at 11:36 PM
Feds purchase warehouse near Hagerstown, fueling talk of immigration detention center
News: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has inked a deal to purchase a warehouse just outside Hagerstown for $102.4 million, fueling concerns of its potential conversion into an immigration detention facility. For @thebaltimorebanner.com
www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...
www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...
Feds purchase warehouse near Hagerstown, fueling talk of detention center
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has inked a deal to purchase a warehouse just outside Hagerstown for $102.4 million.
www.thebanner.com
January 27, 2026 at 10:45 PM
News: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has inked a deal to purchase a warehouse just outside Hagerstown for $102.4 million, fueling concerns of its potential conversion into an immigration detention facility. For @thebaltimorebanner.com
www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...
www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...
Corrections officials tell me the victim was serving a five-year sentence for a felony firearm possession charge, with two additional years for offenses committed while in prison. He had been incarcerated since June 2022.
Something's going on in Maryland's prisons. As @conarck.bsky.social continues to chronicle, last year had the highest prison killings in a decade (13) and there's been 3 more already this month alone www.thebanner.com/community/cr...
Another Maryland prisoner is killed as homicide surge continues
A prisoner was killed inside the Jessup Correctional Institution on Monday, representing the third prison homicide this month, state officials said.
www.thebanner.com
January 27, 2026 at 7:14 PM
Corrections officials tell me the victim was serving a five-year sentence for a felony firearm possession charge, with two additional years for offenses committed while in prison. He had been incarcerated since June 2022.
Reposted by Ben Conarck
Something's going on in Maryland's prisons. As @conarck.bsky.social continues to chronicle, last year had the highest prison killings in a decade (13) and there's been 3 more already this month alone www.thebanner.com/community/cr...
Another Maryland prisoner is killed as homicide surge continues
A prisoner was killed inside the Jessup Correctional Institution on Monday, representing the third prison homicide this month, state officials said.
www.thebanner.com
January 27, 2026 at 4:45 PM
Something's going on in Maryland's prisons. As @conarck.bsky.social continues to chronicle, last year had the highest prison killings in a decade (13) and there's been 3 more already this month alone www.thebanner.com/community/cr...
New: Last night, a 33-year-old named Joseph Harrell was killed in front of the library at Jessup Correctional Institution. It was the third prison homicide in Maryland just this month, putting the state on pace to exceed last year's record of 13 prison homicides. www.thebanner.com/community/cr...
Another Maryland prisoner is killed as homicide surge continues
A prisoner was killed inside the Jessup Correctional Institution on Monday, representing the third prison homicide this month, state officials said.
www.thebanner.com
January 27, 2026 at 4:38 PM
New: Last night, a 33-year-old named Joseph Harrell was killed in front of the library at Jessup Correctional Institution. It was the third prison homicide in Maryland just this month, putting the state on pace to exceed last year's record of 13 prison homicides. www.thebanner.com/community/cr...
We spoke to the relative of a detainee seen in the video, the former field office director for the facility, advocates and lawmakers for this story. This is the kind of coverage you will only read @thebaltimorebanner.com
Viral video provides rare look inside crowded ICE holding room in Baltimore
Viral video offers rare look inside crowded ICE holding room in Baltimore
A new viral video taken inside an immigration holding room facility in downtown Baltimore is the latest proof of abusive treatment of people confined in federal custody, activists and lawmakers say.
buff.ly
January 27, 2026 at 4:04 PM
We spoke to the relative of a detainee seen in the video, the former field office director for the facility, advocates and lawmakers for this story. This is the kind of coverage you will only read @thebaltimorebanner.com
New: After pushback from reformers and the CO’s union, Maryland’s controversial plan to build a $1.2 billion “therapeutic” jail in downtown Baltimore appears to have hit a major snag. @govwesmoore.bsky.social has pulled it from his proposed budget.
www.thebanner.com/community/cr...
www.thebanner.com/community/cr...
No money for budget-busting Baltimore jail in Gov. Moore’s spending plan
The proposed detention facility, which is set to be located in the city’s downtown jail complex, had been slated to receive $125 million.
www.thebanner.com
January 21, 2026 at 10:27 PM
New: After pushback from reformers and the CO’s union, Maryland’s controversial plan to build a $1.2 billion “therapeutic” jail in downtown Baltimore appears to have hit a major snag. @govwesmoore.bsky.social has pulled it from his proposed budget.
www.thebanner.com/community/cr...
www.thebanner.com/community/cr...
Reposted by Ben Conarck
One project that's NOT funded in Maryland Gov. Wes Moore's budget is a proposed "therapeutic" jail for Baltimore that's been kicking around since Gov. Larry Hogan's time. The cost keeps increasing, and the project is being put on pause.
by @conarck.bsky.social:
www.thebanner.com/community/cr...
by @conarck.bsky.social:
www.thebanner.com/community/cr...
No money for budget-busting Baltimore jail in Gov. Moore’s spending plan
The proposed detention facility, which is set to be located in the city’s downtown jail complex, had been slated to receive $125 million.
www.thebanner.com
January 21, 2026 at 9:53 PM
One project that's NOT funded in Maryland Gov. Wes Moore's budget is a proposed "therapeutic" jail for Baltimore that's been kicking around since Gov. Larry Hogan's time. The cost keeps increasing, and the project is being put on pause.
by @conarck.bsky.social:
www.thebanner.com/community/cr...
by @conarck.bsky.social:
www.thebanner.com/community/cr...
Reposted by Ben Conarck
A Montgomery County councilmember watched a teenage boy detained by ICE. Wearing pajamas in the cold, the boy showed ICE agents proof of his citizenship, to no avail, she said. County officials want to prevent this, so they're proposing more restrictions on ICE: www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...
Montgomery County leaders try to strengthen their hand against ICE
Montgomery County Council members introduced two bills Tuesday to curb how ICE conducts detentions and deportations within the county’s borders.
www.thebanner.com
January 21, 2026 at 5:15 PM
A Montgomery County councilmember watched a teenage boy detained by ICE. Wearing pajamas in the cold, the boy showed ICE agents proof of his citizenship, to no avail, she said. County officials want to prevent this, so they're proposing more restrictions on ICE: www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...
NEW: Two years after a @thebaltimorebanner.com investigation into an abnormally high suicide rate and questionable practices at the Harford County Detention Center, Maryland chapters of the ACLU/NAACP are suing the sheriff, citing extensively from our reporting: www.thebanner.com/community/cr...
Harford County sheriff showed ‘deliberate indifference’ to jail suicides, lawsuit says
A coalition of civil rights groups is suing the Harford County Sheriff’s Office, claiming that the agency failed to properly assess jail detainees’ suicide risk and aggravated their mental health cond...
www.thebanner.com
January 20, 2026 at 10:52 PM
NEW: Two years after a @thebaltimorebanner.com investigation into an abnormally high suicide rate and questionable practices at the Harford County Detention Center, Maryland chapters of the ACLU/NAACP are suing the sheriff, citing extensively from our reporting: www.thebanner.com/community/cr...
Reposted by Ben Conarck
NEW: Trump’s DHS forces have shot 11 people since September. NBC News examined every case, revealing a pattern that policing experts called alarming: officers firing into cars, injuring and killing drivers.
Trump's DHS has shot 11 people during immigration enforcement operations since September
The ICE and Border Patrol shootings show a pattern that policing experts say is alarming: officers firing into cars and injuring and killing drivers.
www.nbcnews.com
January 16, 2026 at 9:30 PM
NEW: Trump’s DHS forces have shot 11 people since September. NBC News examined every case, revealing a pattern that policing experts called alarming: officers firing into cars, injuring and killing drivers.
Reposted by Ben Conarck
NEW: Chuck Jenkins, arguably Maryland's most powerful sheriff, said today he wants to keep working with ICE — regardless of national protests and even if Maryland lawmakers outlaw cooperation agreements (called 287g program) in the state. More in @thebaltimorebanner.com:
Maryland sheriff wants to keep working with ICE, even if state lawmakers ban it
Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins plans to keep working with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement, even in light of the killing of an American citizen by an ICE agent.
www.thebanner.com
January 14, 2026 at 9:26 PM
NEW: Chuck Jenkins, arguably Maryland's most powerful sheriff, said today he wants to keep working with ICE — regardless of national protests and even if Maryland lawmakers outlaw cooperation agreements (called 287g program) in the state. More in @thebaltimorebanner.com:
Prisoner homicides hit a modern record high last year with 13. There's already been one so far in 2026, at the state's deadliest prison, a "hypermax" facility in Cumberland.
by @invisibae.bsky.social www.thebanner.com/community/cr...
by @invisibae.bsky.social www.thebanner.com/community/cr...
Another man killed at Maryland’s deadliest prison
Maryland State Police have launched an investigation following a reported killing at North Branch Correctional Institution in Allegany County.
www.thebanner.com
January 11, 2026 at 9:04 PM
Prisoner homicides hit a modern record high last year with 13. There's already been one so far in 2026, at the state's deadliest prison, a "hypermax" facility in Cumberland.
by @invisibae.bsky.social www.thebanner.com/community/cr...
by @invisibae.bsky.social www.thebanner.com/community/cr...
Reposted by Ben Conarck
Plans for a historically expensive jail in Baltimore just got even more costly: $1.2 billion, @conarck.bsky.social reports. (via @thebaltimorebanner.com)
Price hike for Baltimore jail plans: Now estimated at $1.2 billion
As Maryland’s budget outlook worsens, state officials are hedging on the controversial Baltimore jail project.
www.thebanner.com
January 9, 2026 at 11:35 PM
Plans for a historically expensive jail in Baltimore just got even more costly: $1.2 billion, @conarck.bsky.social reports. (via @thebaltimorebanner.com)
Plans for a historically expensive jail in downtown Baltimore have gotten costlier, with the price tag up to $1.2B. Meanwhile, a state budget crunch has made the project's future less certain. Justice reform advocates/CO's union sense an opportunity to derail it. www.thebanner.com/community/cr...
Baltimore’s new $1 billion jail will be most expensive state-funded project in history
The proposed 854-bed facility will be a hybrid jail, hospital and mental health and substance use treatment facility for people facing criminal charges.
www.thebanner.com
January 9, 2026 at 1:27 PM
Plans for a historically expensive jail in downtown Baltimore have gotten costlier, with the price tag up to $1.2B. Meanwhile, a state budget crunch has made the project's future less certain. Justice reform advocates/CO's union sense an opportunity to derail it. www.thebanner.com/community/cr...
Reposted by Ben Conarck
Plans for a historically expensive jail in Baltimore just got even more costly: $1.2 billion
Price hike for Baltimore jail plans: Now estimated at $1.2 billion
As Maryland’s budget outlook worsens, state officials are hedging on the controversial Baltimore jail project.
buff.ly
January 9, 2026 at 11:00 AM
Plans for a historically expensive jail in Baltimore just got even more costly: $1.2 billion
I like how the vet puts the "May cause drowsiness" sticker on my dog's gabapentin like he might forget and take the car out for cigarettes or something
January 9, 2026 at 1:24 AM
I like how the vet puts the "May cause drowsiness" sticker on my dog's gabapentin like he might forget and take the car out for cigarettes or something
New: Anne Arundel County police are publicly disputing ICE's account of a Christmas Eve shooting, in which federal officials claimed (as they have in Minneapolis) that the driver they were stopping tried to run them over
@alexmann.bsky.social @sararuberg.bsky.social
www.thebanner.com/community/lo...
@alexmann.bsky.social @sararuberg.bsky.social
www.thebanner.com/community/lo...
Anne Arundel County Police dispute ICE’s account of Glen Burnie shooting
A deadly shooting by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Minneapolis on Wednesday renewed scrutiny of a violent Christmas Eve incident involving ICE agents in Glen Burnie, with Anne Arundel County ...
www.thebanner.com
January 8, 2026 at 11:23 PM
New: Anne Arundel County police are publicly disputing ICE's account of a Christmas Eve shooting, in which federal officials claimed (as they have in Minneapolis) that the driver they were stopping tried to run them over
@alexmann.bsky.social @sararuberg.bsky.social
www.thebanner.com/community/lo...
@alexmann.bsky.social @sararuberg.bsky.social
www.thebanner.com/community/lo...