by WJAC StaffMon, April 20, 2026 at 1:47 PMUpdated Mon, April 20, 2026 at 5:34 PMHunger strike reports at Moshannon ValleyCLEARFIELD COUNTY, Pa. — (WJAC) Clearfield County Commissioners said they are working with GEO Group leadership to address concerns and clarify a series of events that reportedly happened at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center between April 16 and April 19.Advocacy groups and a media report said there was a detainee hunger strike happening at the immigration detention facility.According to the county commissioners who had a phone meeting with the GEO warden on Monday, they were told the situation began when a detainee became ill during lunch on April 16 and was taken to the infirmary, where he was diagnosed with influenza. The individual was quarantined and has since returned to the general population. Officials told the commissioners 50 to 70 detainees in the same housing pod later refused an evening meal, fearing the illness was food-related, though GEO maintains those concerns were unfounded. The company also reports that all meals were accepted from Friday through Sunday with no complaints and that leadership samples each meal prior to distribution, with no recent reports of contaminated food.The commissioners said they take the well-being of detainees seriously and will continue communicating with GEO to ensure proper standards are met. Their statement comes as those reports raise allegations about conditions inside the facility. According to PennLive and the Shut Down Detention Campaign, approximately 100 detainees have launched a hunger strike to protest what they describe as unsafe living conditions, including contaminated food, inadequate medical care, and staff indifference to medical emergencies.The Shut Down Detention Campaign claims the protest was triggered after a detainee in Unit Four became severely ill, vomiting a green substance, turning pale, and losing consciousness while staff allegedly failed to respond promptly. A witness told PennLive the individual was the third person hospitalized with similar symptoms. The group also alleges detainees have been served spoiled or contaminated food, including stale bread, curdled milk with dark substances, and water containing worms, and claims at least three people have died at the facility since it opened in 2021. The campaign is calling on Commissioners Tim Winters, John Sobel, and Dave Glass to terminate the county’s contracts with ICE and GEO Group and to secure the immediate release of detainees who are sick or participating in the hunger strike.6 News reached out to the GEO group on Friday after the reports surfaced but have not heard back from facility officials.