MDC Los Angeles
| Location | 535 N. Alameda Street, Los Angeles, California (downtown, near Union Station) |
|---|---|
| Status | Active |
| Classification | Administrative (all security levels) |
| Capacity | approximately 1,000 |
| Population | approximately 897–980 (2026 snapshots) |
| Opened | December 1988 |
| Managed by | Federal Bureau of Prisons |
The Metropolitan Detention Center, Los Angeles (MDC Los Angeles) is an administrative-security federal detention facility at 535 N. Alameda Street in downtown Los Angeles, near Union Station. Opened December 1988 — the fifth U.S. city to get a metropolitan detention center — it was designed so federal defendants could be housed two blocks from the courthouse, replacing the old Metropolitan Correctional Center on Aliso Street (site of a 1986 jailbreak).
It holds roughly 900–1,000 men and women: pretrial detainees for the Central District of California, holdovers, and short-sentence inmates, plus — since 2025 — a contested population of ICE detainees that made the facility a flashpoint for Los Angeles protests and congressional oversight.
Facility
Address: 535 N. Alameda Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012 (mail: PO Box 531500, LA 90053). Phone: (213) 485-0439. Twelve stories, 272,000 square feet, built for $36 million; the BOP's first fully non-smoking prison; rooms rather than cells in its original design. Not to be confused with ICE's downtown 'B-18' processing facility or with FCI Terminal Island, which the BOP closed in November 2025 over falling concrete.
The ICE Controversy (2025–2026)
In mid-2025 the facility began housing ICE detainees under an agreement probed by members of Congress. Rep. Maxine Waters was denied entry in June 2025; in August 2025, four House members toured the facility and accused DHS of staging a 'sanitized' oversight visit. Protests and vigils outside the building became a recurring downtown fixture through 2025–26.
Lil Durk
The highest-profile detainee in the facility's recent history: rapper Lil Durk was held at MDC Los Angeles through his murder-for-hire trial — including a period in the special housing unit — and was acquitted by a federal jury on September 11, 2026.
In the News
- Lil Durk acquitted at federal murder-for-hire trial — held at MDC LA through trial. CNN (September 11, 2026). [1]
- Sherman, Chu, Gomez, Waters: DHS and ICE 'sanitized' oversight tour — congressional oversight of ICE detention at MDC LA. Rep. Brad Sherman (August 11, 2025). [2]
- The BOP is closing a Los Angeles prison due to falling concrete — Terminal Island closure (context, not MDC LA). Prison Legal News (December 2025). [3]
Community Discussions
First-person threads from Reddit (r/prison and similar communities) — useful for what the official sources don't say:
- r/Felons — how does MDC Los Angeles work? (1+ year inside) — firsthand conditions account
- r/LosAngeles — protests outside MDC DTLA — 2025 protest activity
- r/evilbuildings — MDC downtown LA — the building
Notable Detainees and Residents
- Lil Durk — held through his 2026 murder-for-hire trial; acquitted September 2026
- Tahawwur Rana — 2008 Mumbai attacks conspirator; held here until his April 2025 extradition to India
- Anthony Pellicano — Hollywood private investigator, wiretapping case
- Paul Ciancia — 2013 LAX shooting, life sentence
See Also
References
- ↑ "Lil Durk acquitted at federal murder-for-hire trial". CNN. Retrieved November 10, 2026.
- ↑ "Sherman, Chu, Gomez, Waters: DHS and ICE 'sanitized' oversight tour". Rep. Brad Sherman. Retrieved November 10, 2026.
- ↑ "The BOP is closing a Los Angeles prison due to falling concrete". Prison Legal News. Retrieved November 10, 2026.