FCI Herlong (medium-security)

MALE

Gender

MEDIUM

Security Level

863

Population (Nov. 2025)

No RDAP

Notes from Alumni

The following people have spoken about their time at FCI Herlong (medium-security) on the Nightmare Success podcast, hosted by Brent Cassity (himself formerly incarcerated in the federal system):

• A Raw Authentic: Randall McKoy’s Journey from Darkness to Light (Nightmare Success podcast)

Please remember that experiences are unique and may not reflect today's experience.

Location

Physical location: HERLONG, CA 96113

Mailing address: 741-925 ACCESS ROAD A-25, HERLONG, CA 96113

Visitation

There are many specific rules and procedures to be aware of when you're considering visiting the institution. Read more on our Visitation Guide.

For full, current visiting rules and scheduling, always check the institution's official page on the Bureau of Prisons website: Official BOP Page.

Daily life and programs

Located in Lassen County within the high-desert northeastern corner of California, FCI Herlong is a medium-security U.S. federal prison for men. The institution sits near the town of Herlong, roughly 55 to 60 miles northwest of Reno, Nevada, and about 190 miles northeast of Sacramento. Operated by the Bureau of Prisons Western Region, the facility opened in 2007 on land historically tied to the former Sierra Army Depot. An adjacent minimum-security satellite camp is administered as a separate security level; it houses a small population (about 60 inmates in recent counts) who provide grounds and support labor. Reported populations vary by source and year. Wikipedia cites a design capacity near 1,640 (including about 145 camp beds), while more recent facility guides put the combined count closer to 735 to 900, reflecting system-wide reductions. The remote setting and the long drive from any major airport make in-person visiting difficult for many families.

Men in the main institution are housed in two- and three-person cells within housing units that hold roughly 200 inmates each, while the camp utilizes open-dormitory bunking. Daily life follows the standard BOP structure built around census counts, work assignments, meals, and recreation. New arrivals are processed through intake screening covering medical evaluation, security scoring, and orientation, and regular sick call is held on weekday mornings. Institutional work details, including food service, maintenance, orderly, and grounds jobs, pay in the roughly $0.12 to $0.40 per hour range. Commissary spending is capped near $360 per month, excluding stamps and over-the-counter medications, and inmates shop weekly on an assigned day. Families fund accounts through approved money services, and inmates stay in contact through the TRULINCS email system and a monthly telephone allotment.

The institution administers the standard BOP education ladder, including GED preparation, adult continuing education, and vocational and recreational programming. It also operates a UNICOR (Federal Prison Industries) shop associated with fleet-management and vehicular-component work, which is generally one of the higher-paying and more sought-after assignments in the system. A notable program gap is drug treatment. The flagship Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP), which can shorten eligible sentences by up to a year, has not been offered at the main institution in recent years. Consequently, men seeking RDAP typically must transfer to another facility, although the non-residential drug program, drug education, and Alcoholics Anonymous have been available. Recreation includes outdoor basketball and handball courts, a walking track, and softball fields, alongside an indoor gym with cardio and weight equipment and hobby-craft options.

Throughout its history, the institution has confined several publicly known prisoners. Among its early inmates was the environmental activist Tre Arrow, who had once been on the FBI's most-wanted list for arson tied to the Earth Liberation Front; he was released in 2009. At Herlong, Christopher "B.G." Dorsey, the Cash Money Records rapper and former Hot Boys member, served the bulk of a 14-year federal sentence for firearm possession and obstruction of justice before his release on September 5, 2023. The facility also drew attention in 2009 when three inmates, Scott Whitney, Diego Paucar, and Erik Alexander, were prosecuted for running a fraudulent tax-refund scheme from inside the prison. These individuals fabricated false W-2 forms for other inmates, a plot that would have netted about $93,950 had it succeeded. Ultimately, the perpetrators pleaded guilty and received additional sentences of seven, four, and three years respectively.

Notable inmates

Name	Sentence	Offense	Dates
Christopher "B.G." Dorsey	14 years	Firearm possession and obstruction of justice (witness tampering); Cash Money Records rapper and former Hot Boys member	Incarcerated at Herlong circa 2012 to 2023; released September 5, 2023 (Register 31969-034)
Tre Arrow	About 5 years	Arson (setting fire to cement and logging trucks in Oregon in 2001); associated with the Earth Liberation Front and formerly on the FBI most-wanted list	Among the institution's early inmates; released in 2009 (Register 70936-065)

FCI Herlong. Public domain photograph, via Wikimedia Commons.