FCI Manchester (medium-security)

FCI Manchester. Public domain photograph, via Wikimedia Commons.

FCI Manchester is a medium-security federal correctional institution for men in Manchester, Kentucky, operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. It held about 1,009 people as of November 2025. It does not offer the Residential Drug Abuse Program. The institution's main number is 606-598-1900.

MALE

Gender

MEDIUM

Security Level

1009

Population (Nov. 2025)

No RDAP

Location

Physical location: MANCHESTER, KY 40962

Mailing address: 805 FOX HOLLOW ROAD, MANCHESTER, KY 40962

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

The Federal Correctional Institution, Manchester (FCI Manchester) is a medium-security U.S. federal prison for male inmates located in unincorporated Clay County, Kentucky. Situated within the Eastern Kentucky coal fields near the county seat of Manchester, the facility lies roughly 75 miles south of Lexington. Construction began in 1989, and the institution opened and was dedicated in late 1992. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons within the Mid-Atlantic Region and includes an adjacent minimum-security satellite camp. The total population runs around 1,150 to 1,225 men, with roughly 984 held in the main medium-security institution and about 183 to 500 at the camp depending on the count. Housing in the primary institution predominantly consists of two-person cells. The living units are split into A and B pods and are named after surrounding Kentucky counties such as Clay, Knox, Laurel, and Whitley. Additionally, the prison contains a Special Housing Unit (SHU) equipped with about 47 beds for segregation.

For people researching designation, a defining feature of FCI Manchester is that the main institution does not offer the Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP). Although it lacks this intensive track that can shave months off a federal sentence, the facility instead provides non-residential drug treatment (NR-DAP), a Drug Education course, and self-help groups including Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. Education services include literacy, GED preparation, and English-as-a-Second-Language instruction, while vocational training has been offered in trades such as Baker, Electrician, HVAC, and Landscape Management Technician. Most able-bodied inmates are required to work, and the facility houses a UNICOR (Federal Prison Industries) factory that produces clothing and textiles. UNICOR assignments pay roughly $0.23 to $1.15 per hour, which is above the $0.12 to $0.40 range for standard institutional jobs.

Daily life at Manchester follows the standard medium-security BOP rhythm of controlled movement, work assignments, and count times. The institution maintains both a law library and a leisure library, alongside a variety of physical recreation options. Outdoor facilities include a walking and jogging track, field sports, and courts for basketball, handball, or racquetball. Furthermore, an indoor gym houses cable weight machines and stationary bikes, as well as amenities for table tennis and an arts-and-crafts space. Medical care covers sick call, dental, and mental-health services; self-initiated visits require the usual $2.00 inmate co-pay, though emergency and chronic care remain exempt. Contact with the outside runs through TRULINCS email, postal mail, scheduled visitation, and monitored phone calls capped around 300 minutes per month. Lastly, inmates are subject to a commissary spending limit in the range of $360 per month.

Situated in a region shaped by Appalachian coal, the prison's location has drawn attention within broader debates regarding the construction of federal correctional facilities on former mining land in Eastern Kentucky. The institution has been the subject of independent oversight reviews, including a 2014 inspection report on FCI Manchester published by the District of Columbia Corrections Information Council that evaluates facility conditions and programming. Because secondary reference guides occasionally report unit counts and camp population inconsistently, prospective residents and their families should verify current program availability, unit configuration, and population figures directly against the BOP institution page.

Notable inmates

Name	Sentence	Offense	Dates
Jeremy Hammond	10 years (the maximum under his plea agreement); sentenced November 2013	Computer hacking / conspiracy under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act; the Anonymous-linked hacktivist breach of the private intelligence firm Stratfor. Confirmed held at the main FCI Manchester medium-security institution, where he was interviewed by reporters and reportedly spent time in solitary; he described days spent folding laundry and sewing, studying Spanish, playing chess, and reading.	Held at FCI Manchester mid-2010s (later transferred; released 2020)
Jeff Smith	One year in federal prison; served roughly eight months	Two counts of obstruction of justice, tied to a concealed campaign-finance violation; a former Missouri State Senator who resigned his seat. Served at the main FCI Manchester institution and later wrote publicly about the experience, including in Inc. magazine and his book about federal incarceration.	2009-2010
Enrique Tarrio	22 years (pardoned January 2025)	Seditious conspiracy and related charges for his role as former Proud Boys chairman in the January 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol attack. Listed among FCI Manchester notable inmates (register No. 98721-004) and held at the medium-security main institution for a period; he was later transferred to FCI Pollock in Louisiana, from which he was released after a presidential pardon on January 20, 2025.	Sentenced September 2023; held at FCI Manchester before transfer