Prisoners across the United States were caught red-handed when the National Emergency Alert System test revealed they were in possession of cell phones, according to TMZ.
On Wednesday, cell phone users in the United States received a loud alert from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and FCC to test the exchange of emergency messages at a national level. A test message and a loud buzzing noise emitted from people's phones, prisoners included.
TMZ reports that guards at New York State Prison and FCI Coleman Low in Florida removed phones from cells during the emergency test. However, a source from a prison in Nevada told the outlet they didn't confiscate any phones since most of their prisoners knew the alert would go off, so they turned off theur devices.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons told TMZ in a statement, "The Federal Bureau of Prisons does not elaborate on specific internal security procedures for safety and security reasons."
Cell phones have become a problem inside prison cells, and officials are actively working to exterminate the problem by introducing phone-sniffing dogs called "E-Dogs."
Prisoners weren't the only population that were ousted by the National Emergency Alert System test. According to ex-Amish TikToker Eli Yoder, "several Amish men" were shunned by the church after FEMA's Oct. 4 test outed them as smartphone owners.
While some Amish communities have slowly embraced technology over the years, they have generally prohibited its use within individual households.
