GRAND FORKS, ND (trfnews.i234.me) – Alexander Clifford Haase, 25, pleaded guilty to Class A misdemeanor engaging in a riot on Friday, May 24, for his involvement in a September incident at the Grand Forks County Correctional Center. He was sentenced to 90 days in custody, with credit for 43 days already served.
On the night of September 20, at 11:28 p.m., officers from the Grand Forks Police Department and the Grand Forks County Sheriff’s Office responded to a riot at the correctional center. Inmates in Pod 3A were reportedly refusing to lock down, barricading the pod door, tying the dayroom door to a table with clothes and blankets, clogging toilets to flood the pod, arming themselves with makeshift weapons from mop and broom handles, throwing items, banging on windows and doors, and shouting demands such as “We ain’t locking down” and “give us our commissary.”
Haase was accused of participating in the riot by failing to lock down and engaging in violent and tumultuous conduct. Inmates cited issues with food quality, portion sizes, and delays or omissions in commissary items as reasons for the protest.
Haase was the 11th out of 13 inmates charged in connection with the September 20 protest to plead guilty. Another defendant, Kyle Martin Heintz, stood trial and was found not guilty of inciting and leading a riot and criminal mischief.
Other inmates, including Cameron Michael Lafriniere, Gary Lawrence Grant, Travis Lee Willson, Mitchell Dean Lajimodiere, Jaston Peter Blueshield, Kelly Mikul Hood, Logan Orion Riley, Takoda Richard Allery, and Steven Robert Keesling, also pleaded guilty to various charges related to the riot. The remaining defendant, Collin Jay Parisien, was transferred to another facility, and his case is inactive.