Delaware Inmates Blame Trump for Hostage-Taking

Authorities negotiated into the evening Wednesday for the release of the last two of four corrections department workers taken hostage by inmates at a Delaware prison, the AP reports. Earlier in the day, inmates at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in Smyrna reached out to the News Journal in Wilmington to explain their actions and make demands. In one call, an inmate said their reasons "for doing what we're doing" included "Donald Trump. Everything that he did. All the things that he's doing now. We know that the institution is going to change for the worse."

The caller said education for prisoners was the inmates' priority. They also said they want effective rehabilitation for all prisoners and information about how money is allocated to prisons. Police say the four prison employees were taken hostage after officers responded to a call for immediate assistance. One hostage was released Wednesday afternoon and another was released hours later. Robert Coupe, secretary of the Delaware Department of Safety and Homeland Security, said 27 inmates also had left the building over the course of the evening. Authorities don't know "the dynamics of the takeover" or whether those inmates had been held against their will, Coupe said. (More Delaware stories.)