FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), and Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R-AR) announced on Friday that the agency will vote this month on a proposal that would allow prisons to jam contraband cellphones.
After visiting the Varner Supermax Prison in Arkansas Friday morning, Carr announced alongside leaders including Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin and other local public safety officials, that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will move in September to allow prisons to jam cellphone activity in prisons. This proposal follows thousands of contraband cellphones having swarmed into prisons across the country to coordinate call-in hits and gang activity and to aid criminal enterprises.
Carr said in a written statement that this proposal would further President Donald Trump’s mission to restore law and order:
President Trump is restoring law and order. He is putting the safety of law-abiding Americans first. That is why I am pleased to announce that the FCC will vote, for the first time ever, on allowing prisons to jam contraband cellphones. For years, thousands upon thousands of contraband cellphones have been pouring into prisons, and some of the worst possible offenders have been using them to order hits, coordinate violent gang activity, and aid criminal enterprises. While the FCC has authorized a range of solutions in the past, it has stopped short of allowing jamming. It is time to empower law enforcement to put additional solutions in place—including jamming. I would like to thank the leadership of the great state of Arkansas for hosting us today and for the leadership you have shown in working to eliminate this pressing threat to public safety.
Despite efforts to prevent contraband cellphone usage in prisons across the country, a 2024 study found that prison authorities recovered more than 25,000 cell phones in one year. Two facilities found more than 6,000 cell phones.
Cotton said that the FCC’s proposed actions would reduce violent crime in prison:
Today’s tour of Varner Prison in Arkansas reaffirmed what we’ve long known—contraband cellphones are a real and ongoing problem in our correctional system. These phones are a security risk that allow criminals to coordinate crimes while sitting behind bars. I’m grateful to Chairman Carr, Attorney General Griffin, and Governor Sanders for their participation and their partnership on this issue. The Trump administration is committed to stopping violent crime and I applaud Chairman Carr’s announcement that the FCC will soon vote on a proposal to give our prisons the ability to jam contraband cellphones for the first time. Congress should follow their lead and codify this proposal by immediately passing the Cellphone Jamming Reform Act of 2025.
Given the continued contraband problem, correctional officials have sought additional authority to use more tools to jam cell usage. This year, a bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general sent a letter to congressional leaders backing Cotton’s bill, the Cellphone Jamming Reform Act.
Gov. Huckabee Sanders said in a written statement:
Public safety is government’s first priority, and the evidence clearly shows that contraband cell phones pose a direct threat to Arkansans’ security. President Trump is restoring order and delivering on his promises to the American people by empowering the men and women of law enforcement to do what they selflessly signed up to do – protect and serve. I am grateful for President Trump, Senator Cotton, and Chairman Carr’s leadership on this issue at the federal level, as well as Attorney General Griffin’s leadership here in our state. Together, we will hold criminals accountable and protect Arkansans.
Griffin remarked:
Earlier today, Senator Tom Cotton, Chairman Brendan Carr, and I toured the Varner Unit of the Arkansas Department of Corrections to see firsthand how cellphone jamming in prisons would benefit Arkansas, and what we saw was alarming. Varner staff showed us the collection of contraband cellphones that have been confiscated. After our visit to Varner, I joined Senator Cotton, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Chairman Carr, Lindsay Wallace, Secretary of the Arkansas Department of Corrections, and other public safety leaders for a roundtable meeting at my office to discuss the threat that contraband cellphones pose to correctional officers and the general public. Thousands of contraband cellphones have poured into prisons across the country, and inmates have been using them to plan further criminal activity, including assault, murder, and aiding criminal enterprises. I applaud Chairman Carr and the FCC for moving forward with a rule that would allow correctional facilities to use jamming solutions to combat contraband cellphones, and I appreciate the leadership of Senator Cotton and Congressman David Kustoff (R-Tennessee) on this issue. This is an obvious problem with an obvious solution, and it’s time to get this done.
The FCC proposal will be voted on during the FCC Open Meeting on September 30. The proposal would set an authorization framework — a cooperation framework between departments of corrections and wireless carriers to implement jamming solutions, while preventing interference to wireless carriers.
