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FPC Montgomery (minimum-security)

From Prisonpedia
Male
Gender
Minimum
Security Level
662 (April 2024)
Population
Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, AL 36112
RDAP: Yes


Federal Prison Camp, Montgomery (FPC Montgomery) is a minimum-security federal prison for male inmates in Montgomery, Alabama. It sits on the grounds of Maxwell Air Force Base. The Federal Bureau of Prisons, part of the United States Department of Justice, runs the camp. It opened in 1930 and is the oldest federal prison camp still in operation.[1]

The camp held 662 inmates in April 2024.[2] Most are serving time for white-collar offenses, drug crimes, or immigration violations. Few have a history of violence. Most sentences run under ten years.[2]

Overview

FPC Montgomery is a camp, not a walled prison. There are no fences and no guard towers. Inmates live in dormitory housing rather than cells. They move around the grounds for work assignments, meals, and programming. This open layout is standard for federal prison camps, which house the lowest-risk inmates in the Bureau of Prisons system.[3]

The camp draws a population heavy on white-collar cases. Former executives, public officials, and financial offenders have served sentences here. Inmates must be classified as low-risk to be designated to a camp. A history of violence, a long remaining sentence, or certain prior records can disqualify a person from camp placement.[3]

FPC Montgomery runs the Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP). RDAP is a voluntary treatment program. Inmates who complete it may qualify for a sentence reduction of up to one year. The camp also offers a non-residential drug abuse program and a drug abuse education course.[1] Education programs include GED preparation, literacy instruction, and English as a Second Language.[1]

History

The camp opened in 1930 on Maxwell Field, the military airfield that later became Maxwell Air Force Base. Its original name was Federal Prison Camp Maxwell Field.[3] Camps like this one were built next to military installations so inmate labor could support base operations. The arrangement was common in the early decades of the federal camp system.[3]

In September 2024 the camp saw a large protest. More than 700 inmates refused to attend meals from September 11 through dinner on September 14, 2024. They were protesting the Bureau of Prisons' handling of First Step Act credits. Many inmates could not get clear answers about their release dates. The First Step Act of 2018 created a system of earned time credits, but six years later the Bureau had not finished rolling out a reliable calculator. Inmates lined up at case managers' offices asking when they would be released and left without firm dates.[4][5]

The camp returned to normal operations on Monday, September 16, 2024. Officials said they would correct the credit problems. In the weeks that followed, dozens of inmates who had taken part were transferred to other facilities.[5][6]

Notable Inmates

FPC Montgomery has held several inmates from politics, business, and sports.

  • Jeffrey Skilling was the former chief executive of Enron. He was convicted of conspiracy, securities fraud, and insider trading. His sentence was later reduced. He served part of it at FPC Montgomery and was released in 2019.[2]
  • Jesse Jackson Jr. was a U.S. Representative from Illinois. He pleaded guilty to misusing campaign funds, served 29 months, and was released in 2015.[2]
  • Charles Colson was special counsel to President Richard Nixon. He served seven months for an offense tied to the Watergate scandal and was released in 1975.[2]
  • John N. Mitchell was Nixon's attorney general. He was convicted in the Watergate prosecutions and served 19 months, with release in 1979.[2]
  • Charles Kushner was a real estate developer. He served 14 months for campaign finance violations, tax evasion, and witness tampering, and was released in 2006. He was pardoned in 2020.[2]
  • Robert Frederick Collins was a federal judge. He was convicted of accepting bribes, served five years, and was released in 1997.[2]
  • Kevin Trudeau was a television pitchman. He served a contempt-of-court sentence and was released in 2022.[2]
  • Reche Caldwell was a former NFL wide receiver. He served 27 months on a drug distribution conviction.[2]
Name Sentence Offense Dates
Greg Lindberg 87 months (conviction later overturned) Insurance executive; bribing a state insurance commissioner and conspiracy to defraud Reported October 20, 2020; released July 15, 2022

Notes from Alumni

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

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

Location and Visitation

FPC Montgomery is on Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. The mailing address is Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, AL 36112.[1]

Visiting rules, approved-visitor procedures, and schedules change often. Anyone planning a visit should confirm current details on the institution's official page on the Bureau of Prisons website: Official BOP Page. For general guidance, see the Prisonpedia Visitation Guide.

Daily life and programs

Operated by the Bureau of Prisons Southeast Region, FPC Montgomery is a minimum-security Federal Prison Camp for male inmates located on the grounds of Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. The camp holds roughly 660 to 770 men, with Wikipedia having listed 662 as of April 2024, while guide aggregators cite figures near 698 to 767. Because it functions as a standalone camp, there is no adjacent main institution, meaning every person confined at Montgomery is strictly at the camp security level. Consistent with standard FPC design, the facility has no secure perimeter fence, relying instead on inmate self-management rather than physical barriers. The population is overwhelmingly non-violent, as most men serve time for white-collar, drug-related, or immigration offenses and are near the end of their sentences. In addition, secondary guides describe the facility as one of the oldest federal prison camps, noting it was originally established on Maxwell Field, though that opening-date claim traces to aggregator sites rather than a primary BOP record.

Residential housing is entirely dormitory-style, comprising three general population housing units divided into two-person cubicles. The camp has no Special Housing Unit, meaning there is no on-site solitary confinement. Daily life follows a structured routine of standing counts, meals, work details, and programmed activity, with recreation available during non-work periods. All medically able inmates are required to work. Common assignments include food service, landscaping and grounds, maintenance, and orderly positions paying roughly $0.12 to $0.40 an hour. Additionally, UNICOR (Federal Prison Industries) runs a laundry operation at the camp providing pay in the higher $0.23 to $1.15 range. Inmate communication is maintained through TRULINCS email, traditional mail, and monitored phone calls limited to about 300 minutes per month. Finally, the commissary carries a monthly spending limit near $360 for food, hygiene, and approved electronics.

This minimum-security camp offers the Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP), which is the BOP's voluntary nine-month, roughly 500-hour intensive residential treatment program that can earn eligible participants up to twelve months off a sentence. Educational and reentry programming features literacy, GED, and English-as-a-Second-Language classes, as well as a parenting class and paid correspondence options for high school and post-secondary study. Furthermore, advanced occupational and vocational offerings reported for the site encompass horticulture, building and grounds maintenance trades, mechanics, culinary arts, and computer/IT coursework including A+ certification basics. Recreation at the facility includes large outdoor areas with a walking track, softball fields, and basketball courts, alongside indoor options such as fitness equipment, table games, and arts and crafts.

FPC Montgomery is best known publicly for the roster of high-profile white-collar and political figures who have cycled through the facility, earning it a reputation as a destination for prominent federal defendants. The institution has also experienced collective action episodes tied to sentencing reform. In September 2024, reporting and inmate accounts described more than 700 prisoners at FPC Montgomery refusing meals in protest over the handling of release timing and earned-time credits by the Bureau of Prisons under the 2018 First Step Act. Because the facility operated for decades under the earlier name associated with Maxwell Field, several pre-1982 notable inmates, whose records predate the BOP online inmate locator, are documented at this same camp under that historical naming.

First-hand accounts

First-person accounts and reporting about life at this facility. Experiences are individual and may not reflect current conditions.

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

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "FPC Montgomery". Federal Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 "Federal Prison Camp, Montgomery". '. Retrieved July 13, 2026.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Montgomery Federal Prison Camp". PrisonPro. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
  4. ↑ "Incarcerated Protesters Say BOP Violates the First Step Act".The Appeal.2024-09.Retrieved 2026-06-03.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "BOP Prisoners in Alabama Strike to Protest Release Date Confusion".Prison Legal News.2025-01-15.Retrieved 2026-06-03.
  6. ↑ "Federal Bureau of Prisons addresses alleged hunger strike in Montgomery".WSFA.2024-09-12.Retrieved 2026-06-03.
FPC Montgomery. Public domain photograph, via Wikimedia Commons.
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