# Sherburne County Jail *County detention facility in Elk River, Minnesota* The Sherburne County Jail is the county detention facility at 13880 Business Center Drive NW in Elk River, [[Minnesota]]. It shares that street address with the Sherburne County Attorney's office.[^1] The jail has held people in federal custody. These include defendants sentenced in the [[Feeding Our Future]] prosecutions, two men convicted in the 2015 ISIL recruitment cases, and immigration detainees held for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).[^2][^3][^4] The project's at-issue record documents the jail through its outputs. They include a 735-bed capacity set against a local average daily population of 100–200. They also include two deaths by hanging in the same cell, settled for $2.3 million and $1.5 million, and a $98,000 settlement over the jail's mail policy.[^5][^6][^7] Federal and state inspections produced further findings, among them an ICE finding that no administrative-segregation file it reviewed recorded the decision to segregate.[^8] The State of Minnesota inspected the jail on June 21, 2022 and scored it 99.21% compliant. In the same report, under "concerns," inspectors recorded that well-being checks were conducted "at a pace too quickly to observe sign of life". The at-issue record identifies that as the defect alleged in the death of Justice Lee White. It was recorded as a concern rather than a violation.[^9] The record documents the jail's capacity, its revenue and its losses. It does not establish why the county built or maintained the beds at the size shown.[^5][^11] ## Who - **Sheriff Joel Brott** was named personally as a defendant, alongside the county, in a federal suit over the jail's mail policy. The suit was settled on May 11, 2021.[^7] - **James Lynas** and **Justice Lee White** died by hanging in the same cell of the jail. Both deaths ended in settlements.[^6] - **[[Feeding Our Future]] defendants** were held at the jail. Abdiaziz Shafii Farah was sentenced to 28 years for fraud and 10 years for bribing a juror with $120,000 in cash. Mukhtar Mohamed Shariff has been held since June 3, 2024 and was sentenced to 17.5 years. Abdikerm Eidleh was extradited from Mogadishu and booked into the jail in July 2026.[^2] - **ISIL recruitment case defendants.** Guled Ali Omar gave interviews from the jail and received 35 years. Hanad Mustafe Musse wrote to the judge from the jail. The record states that it is not established whether the other defendants in those cases were held there.[^3] - **Not held there.** The record states affirmatively that Derek Chauvin was not held at the jail. Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane were not held there either; all three were released on bond before trial.[^12] - **Jail leadership on ICE detainee conditions.** More than fifty ICE detainees signed a letter about their safety. The jail commander answered: "Treatment at the Sherburne County jail is not cruel."[^4] ## What **Mail policy.** From June 2019 the jail classified incoming newspapers and magazines as contraband. Under the policy: - the general population received a single shared copy of the Star Tribune; - prisoners in segregation received nothing; - the publisher was given no notice that its mail was being destroyed, and so could not challenge the decision. A federal suit named the county and Sheriff Brott. It was settled on May 11, 2021 for $98,000 and a rewrite of the policy.[^7] **Deaths in custody.** James Lynas told guards repeatedly that he intended to kill himself. He died in a blind spot that officers could not see. Justice Lee White died in the same cell four years later. According to the record, the fixes recommended after the first death had not been made. The two deaths resulted in settlements of $2.3 million and $1.5 million. The Lynas family declined a non-disclosure agreement. The record states that this is what allowed the second family to cite the first case. Sources disagree on the year of Lynas's death: Prison Legal News gives 2016, while the Star Tribune and MPR News give 2017.[^6] **State inspection.** The State's June 21, 2022 inspection scored the jail 99.21% compliant. The same report recorded, as a concern rather than a violation, that well-being checks were conducted too quickly to observe signs of life.[^9] **Federal inspection.** ICE's Office of Detention Oversight inspected the jail on June 14–16, 2022, when seven detainees were held there. The Office found that none of nine administrative-segregation files contained a written record of the decision to segregate.[^8] **Legislative record.** A coalition letter to the Minnesota House on March 10, 2026 summarized the federal inspection findings. It listed deficiencies in: - timely medical assessments; - informed consent for medication; - planning for detainees with disabilities. The letter also stated that the jail had no approved written policies for sexual abuse prevention or for suicide prevention.[^10] **Assault of an ICE detainee.** An eighteen-year-old ICE detainee was sexually assaulted over roughly a week by a cellmate. The cellmate was a state prisoner with a 2006 conviction on two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving four children. The facility then held 85 ICE detainees, more than fifty of whom signed a letter about their safety. ICE declined to release its inspection reports. This entry rests on a single news source.[^4] ## When - **2016:** The jail's enterprise fund ran an operating loss.[^11] Lynas's death is dated 2016 by Prison Legal News and 2017 by the Star Tribune and MPR News.[^6] - **June 2019:** Incoming newspapers and magazines were classified as contraband.[^7] - **May 11, 2021:** The mail-policy suit was settled.[^7] - **June 14–16, 2022:** ICE's Office of Detention Oversight inspected the jail.[^8] - **June 21, 2022:** The State inspected the jail and scored it 99.21% compliant.[^9] - **June 3, 2024:** Mukhtar Mohamed Shariff's custody began.[^2] - **March 10, 2026:** A coalition letter to the Minnesota House summarized the federal inspection findings.[^10] - **July 2026:** Abdikerm Eidleh was booked into the jail after extradition from Mogadishu.[^2] ## Where The jail is at 13880 Business Center Drive NW in Elk River, the same street address as the County Attorney's office. Demonstrators have gathered outside the address every Wednesday for years. Their central complaint is that the facility lacks outdoor recreation access, which they say federal detention standards require. The record flags this as an allegation; compliance with the standards has not been independently verified.[^1] ## How much - **Enterprise fund, 2016:** operating loss of $1,095,461 on revenue of $15.1 million. The county then sought two hundred additional beds from ICE.[^11] - **Death settlements:** $2.3 million and $1.5 million.[^6] - **Mail-policy settlement:** $98,000, plus a policy rewrite.[^7] - **Juror bribe:** Farah was sentenced for bribing a juror with $120,000 in cash.[^2] ## How many - **Capacity:** 735 beds. The county administrator's own accounting put this at roughly four times what a county of Sherburne's size needs.[^5] - **Population and comparisons:** local average daily population runs 100–200. Comparable Minnesota counties operate 150–250 beds.[^5] - **Expansion request:** the county sought 200 more ICE beds after the 2016 operating loss.[^11] - **ICE detainees at the time of the assault:** 85, of whom more than fifty signed a letter about their safety.[^4] - **June 2022 ICE inspection:** seven detainees held, and nine of nine administrative-segregation files lacked a written segregation decision.[^8] ## In the at-issue record **How each entry is cited.** Each at-issue entry on the jail is cited here to the White House document the project assigned as its anchor. That anchor is not the entry's underlying source. The underlying sources are named in each note but are not in the citable set: - county and state agency records; - ICE inspection records; - court records; - Minnesota House records; - news reports. **Facts resting on news alone.** These rest only on news reports and should be read as reported rather than settled: - the ICE detainee assault; - the Feeding Our Future custody entries.[^4][^2] **Limits the record states.** The record states its own limits. It does not establish whether ISIL defendants other than Omar and Musse were held at the jail.[^3] It states the negative finding on Chauvin and his co-defendants affirmatively.[^12] ## Notes [^1]: The White House, *Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos* (March 2025) — anchor document for the project's at-issue entry AI-Sherburne-088. The entry covers the jail's address and the County Attorney's office at the same address, the weekly Wednesday demonstrations, and the outdoor-recreation complaint, flagged as an allegation not independently verified. Underlying sources: co.sherburne.mn.us; mnicom.org. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/stopping-waste-fraud-and-abuse-by-eliminating-information-silos/ [^2]: The White House, *Trump Administration's Full-Scale War on Fraud* (May 2026) — anchor document for at-issue entry AI-Sherburne-004. The entry covers Feeding Our Future defendants held at the jail: the Farah and Shariff sentences, Shariff's custody since June 3, 2024, and Eidleh's booking in July 2026. Underlying sources: sahanjournal.com; startribune.com. https://www.whitehouse.gov/releases/2026/05/trump-administrations-full-scale-war-on-fraud/ [^3]: The White House, *Trump Administration's Full-Scale War on Fraud* (May 2026) — anchor document for at-issue entry AI-Sherburne-093. The entry covers Omar and Musse in the 2015 ISIL cases and states that the other defendants' custody is not established. Underlying sources: justice.gov; postbulletin.com. https://www.whitehouse.gov/releases/2026/05/trump-administrations-full-scale-war-on-fraud/ [^4]: The White House, *Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos* (March 2025) — anchor document for at-issue entry AI-Sherburne-014. The entry covers the ICE detainee assault, the 85 detainees and the 50+ signatures, the jail commander's statement, and ICE withholding its inspection reports. Underlying source: startribune.com. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/stopping-waste-fraud-and-abuse-by-eliminating-information-silos/ [^5]: The White House, *Protecting America's Bank Account Against Fraud, Waste, and Abuse* (March 2025) — anchor document for at-issue entry AI-Sherburne-001. The entry covers the 735 beds, the county administrator's accounting, the 100–200 average daily population, and the 150–250-bed comparables. Underlying sources: hometownsource.com; mn.gov. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/protecting-americas-bank-account-against-fraud-waste-and-abuse/ [^6]: The White House, *Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos* (March 2025) — anchor document for at-issue entry AI-Sherburne-009. The entry covers the Lynas and White deaths in the same cell, the $2.3 million and $1.5 million settlements, the declined NDA, and the 2016/2017 date conflict. Underlying sources: mprnews.org; prisonlegalnews.org; startribune.com. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/stopping-waste-fraud-and-abuse-by-eliminating-information-silos/ [^7]: The White House, *Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos* (March 2025) — anchor document for at-issue entry AI-Sherburne-008. The entry covers the June 2019 mail policy, the suit naming the county and Sheriff Brott, and the May 11, 2021 settlement for $98,000. Underlying source: prisonlegalnews.org. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/stopping-waste-fraud-and-abuse-by-eliminating-information-silos/ [^8]: The White House, *Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos* (March 2025) — anchor document for at-issue entry AI-Sherburne-015. The entry covers the ICE Office of Detention Oversight inspection of June 14–16, 2022: seven detainees, and nine of nine administrative-segregation files without a written decision. Underlying source: ice.gov. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/stopping-waste-fraud-and-abuse-by-eliminating-information-silos/ [^9]: The White House, *Protecting America's Bank Account Against Fraud, Waste, and Abuse* (March 2025) — anchor document for at-issue entry AI-Sherburne-010. The entry covers the June 21, 2022 state inspection: the 99.21% compliance score and the "sign of life" concern. Underlying sources: mn.gov; mprnews.org. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/protecting-americas-bank-account-against-fraud-waste-and-abuse/ [^10]: The White House, *Establishing the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud* (March 2026) — anchor document for at-issue entry AI-Sherburne-016. The entry covers the March 10, 2026 coalition letter to the Minnesota House summarizing the federal inspection findings. Underlying sources: house.mn.gov; ice.gov. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/03/establishing-the-task-force-to-eliminate-fraud/ [^11]: The White House, *Protecting America's Bank Account Against Fraud, Waste, and Abuse* (March 2025) — anchor document for at-issue entry AI-Sherburne-019. The entry covers the 2016 enterprise-fund operating loss of $1,095,461 on revenue of $15.1 million and the request to ICE for 200 more beds. Underlying sources: mprnews.org; workdaymagazine.org. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/protecting-americas-bank-account-against-fraud-waste-and-abuse/ [^12]: The White House, *Establishing the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud* (March 2026) — anchor document for at-issue entry AI-Sherburne-092. The entry states the negative finding that Chauvin, Thao, Kueng and Lane were not held at the jail. Underlying source: justice.gov. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/03/establishing-the-task-force-to-eliminate-fraud/