It’s past time to place private prison firm GEO Group under a microscope.
The firm, whose executives have boasted about the corporate profits the company stands to make from aiding President Donald Trump’s racist anti-immigrant crackdown, added to a growing list of controversies on Wednesday when one of its employees was charged with assault for allegedly shooting a woman in the foot while she was protesting against Immigration and Customs Enforcement at one of its facilities.
The 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday that DA Brian Mason had charged 42-year-old Brandon Booth with one count each for first-degree assault and attempted first-degree assault in the shooting of 21-year-old Emma Landis and another protester.
Booth was facing several felony charges in connection with the shooting, including two counts of second-degree attempted murder, one count of first-degree assault, one count of unlawful carrying of a concealed weapon, and two counts of felony menacing.
Colorado Public Radio reported an arrest affidavit in which Booth allegedly acknowledged after the shooting that he had “done some dumb sh*t.” Booth is scheduled to appear in court on Monday, CBS news reported.
In an email to The Guardian, the GEO Group said, “We are aware that an off-duty Aurora ICE Processing Center employee was involved in a shooting incident,” and that he “has been placed on unpaid administrative leave, and we will fully cooperate with law enforcement.”
Emma Landis, the shooting victim, spoke out about the reality of violence against protesters during a demonstration on Sunday.
The shooting adds to a growing list of bad publicity for GEO Group. Last year, executives boasted about the “unprecedented opportunities” they expected to receive from the Trump administration’s targeting of immigrants, specifically as a result of the company’s role in managing immigrant lockups and providing tools to monitor immigrants electronically.
Meanwhile, prisoners held in GEO Group-operated detention centers have made several allegations of abuse and neglect. Just last week, a federal judge demanded the Department of Homeland Security immediately address what she said were likely unconstitutional conditions at the Adelanto ICE facility operated by GEO Group in southern California. (The GEO Group emailed NPR a statement in June to say ICE monitors its facilities’ standards and access to medical care, legal and family visits and balance meals are provided.)
Within the government, the personal and financial ties of administration officials — beginning with the president himself — to GEO Group have raised corruption concerns.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington published a report this week spotlighting recent financial disclosures that show Trump bought and sold hundreds of thousands of dollars in GEO Group stock (in addition to stock in CoreCivic, another for-profit prison firm) over the past year. In other words, the president’s finances are intertwined with and aided by his administration’s assault on immigrant communities, even as the White House as said his investments are in a trust managed by his sons.
Among other concerns about his background, Tom Homan was paid at least $5,000 by the GEO Group for consultation work before he joined the administration as Trump’s deportation czar (ICE has said he has not been involved in contract decisions since joining). And Sen. Elizabeth Warren has sought details on acting ICE Director David Venturella’s previous work as a senior executive at the company. The Washington Post described Venturella as the “former private prison exec behind ICE’s immigrant detention surge,” positioning him as a nexus between the Trump administration and the private prison industry.
This relationship between the administration and for-profit prison firms, especially GEO Group, already warranted congressional scrutiny. The shooting of a demonstrator by a GEO Group employee proves this scrutiny is urgently needed.
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