Federal inmate charged with using a cell phone to post Facebook live videos from prison

ATLANTA – Brian J. Wilson, an inmate in Atlanta’s U.S. Penitentiary has been charged with possessing a contraband cell phone that he used to post photographs to and live stream content onto a social media platform from his prison cell.

“The proliferation of contraband cell phones in federal prisons has reached epidemic proportions,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “Inmates tempted to use a phone in Atlanta’s federal prison – when we catch you using a cell phone from prison, it will equal more cell time in prison.”

“Unauthorized cell phones in prisons are often used to conduct further illegal activity and can create serious security concerns,” said Chis Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “We will continue to use our resources and investigate how contraband is smuggled into any federal prison.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: the United States Penitentiary in Atlanta, Georgia (“USP Atlanta”) is a medium-security federal prison for male inmates operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

On or about March 24, 2015, Wilson was sentenced to ten years of imprisonment after incurring a conviction for possession of a stolen firearm. Since approximately May 3, 2018, Wilson has been an inmate at USP Atlanta, with a scheduled release date of November 28, 2022.

As an inmate, Wilson possessed a cell phone in USP Atlanta. From approximately late-May to July 2019, Wilson used a cell phone to post images to and to live stream content onto a social media platform from his prison cell. In fact, Wilson posted a photograph onto his Facebook account of himself holding a cell phone while in his prison cell.

Brian J. Wilson, 32, of Atlanta, Georgia, has been charged via criminal information with possessing a contraband cell phone in prison.

Members of the public are reminded that the information only contains charges.  The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

The FBI and the Bureau of Prisons are investigating this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey W. Davis, Chief of the Public Integrity and Special Matters Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn Cain Burch are prosecuting the case.