46 Most Dangerous Prisoners At ADX Florence Prison

46 - Salvador Magluta

One of the worlds most prolific transporters of drugs through the continental United States, Salvador Magluta is estimated to have transported over 75 tons of cocaine into the United States.

This Cuban American former drug kingpin received a 205-year sentence, meaning that he is actually scheduled for release on September 28, 2166.

Becoming known as Los Muchachos, which is Spanish for "the boys", Magluta is currently appealing the sentence, citing over 40 policy violations.

45 - Abu Hamza al-Masri

Egyptian cleric Hamza became famous in the UK after preaching Islamic fundamentalist views on the streets of London right under the noses of both the police and the media.

After a lengthy stint in London's most secure Prison, Belmarsh, he was extradited to the UK and began his stay at the notorious Metropolitan Detention Center.

He was later convicted of masterminding the 1998 kidnapping of Westerners in Yemen and conspiring to establish a terrorist training camp in Oregon earning him a life sentence at ADX Florence

44 - Perry Roark

The leader of one of the most feared gangs in the Maryland Department of Corrections, Perry Roark helped found Dead Man Inc and was a close associate of the Black Guerrilla Family.

Known for targeting both rivals and correctional staff, drug trafficking within prisons became commonplace as the gang grew in size and power.

Roark later pleaded guilty to a racketeering conspiracy, murder and trafficking charges, receiving a sentence of life in prison.

He was partially transferred to USP Florence High but was returned to ADX Florence, in 2020.

43 - Richard McNair

Known to be cunning escape artist, McNair escaped from the Ward County Jail, North Dakota in 1987, from the North Dakota State Penitentiary in 1992 and from USP Pollock, Louisiana in 2006.

McNair is currently serving 2 life sentences on a state murder charge from North Dakota in 1987 and was one of the top fifteen fugitives wanted by US Marshals before his arrest.

McNair has described his current conditions as un-escapable in media interviews and states that the people in his pod are so dangerous even he avoids contact with them.

42 - Walter Myers

Pleading guilty in 2009 to conspiracy to commit espionage for providing classified U.S. national defense information to Cuba, this spy is currently serving a life sentence at the prison.

After passing information to the Cuban's for over 30 years, Myers was sentenced in 2010 and pleaded guilty to multiple counts of espionage and wire fraud.

41 - Robert Hanssen

One of the most famous double agents in F.B.I history, Robert Hanssen spied for Soviet and Russian intelligence services against the United States from 1979 to 2001.

He pleaded guilty to 13 counts of espionage, one count of attempted espionage, and one of conspiracy to commit espionage in 2001.

Sentenced to 15 consecutive sentences of life in prison without the possibility of parole, he is never getting out of prison and will remain in ADX FLorence for the rest of his life.

40 - Noshir Gowadia

One of the principal designers of the B-2 stealth bomber and Former engineer for the U.S. Department of Defense, he was later revealed to have been passing top secret stealth tech to China.

The information included cruise missile technology and received a 32-year sentence and is scheduled for release on January 31, 2033.

The jury deliberated for five and a half days before returning a guilty verdict on Gowadia and he was lucky as he could have easily received a life sentence for his crimes.

39 - Muhanad Mahmoud Al Farekh

Reportedly radicalized by one of the men charged with the 2009 New York City subway bombing plot, Farekh was convicted of terrorism-related charges in 2017.

He attended Al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan and helped plan the attack on Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khost via supporting material.

Currently serving a 45-year sentence this Houston born American citizen is scheduled for release on August 5, 2053.

38 - Naser Jason Abdo

Former American Army Private First Class, Abdo was arrested July 28, 2011 near Fort Hood Texas, accused of planning to attack a restaurant full of soldiers from the base.

Sentenced to two consecutive life terms, plus 60 years for attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, attempted murder of federal employees, and weapons charges.

He is currently Serving the term at ADX Florence after it was deemed to dangerous for him to be held elsewhere, even tho he had not been charged with any terrorism offences.

37 - Faisal Shahzad

Arrested approximately 53 hours after an attempt to detonate a car bomb in Times Square, New York, Faisal Shahzad confessed to 10 counts arising from the bombing attempt in a court.

Shahzad was unrepentant after the attempt and he was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

Currently held at supermax, his charges include attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and attempting an act of a terrorist attack.

36 - Eric Rudolph

Known as the Olympic Park Bomber, Rudolph is a convicted American domestic terrorist who carried out the Olympic Park bombing at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

He was on the run for five years while making the top of the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives before being caught in 2003.

After pleading guilty to numerous state and federal homicide charges,m he received four life sentences in exchange for avoiding the death penalty.

While he spends 23 hours per day alone in his 80-square-foot concrete cell, he has written letters that made publications on several websites, something the prison is powerless to stop.

35 - Kaboni Savage

American drug dealer, organized crime leader, and murderer who is currently on federal death row, Savage is one of ADX Florence's most notorious inmates.

Currently holding 13 death sentences, a sentence of life imprisonment and a consecutive ten-year sentence.

His convictions include witness tampering, murder in aid of racketeering, using fire to commit a felony, threatening a witness, drug trafficking and retaliating against a witness resulting in death.

ADX Florence has no death chamber and it is understood he will be transferred to United States Penitentiary, Terre Haute in Indiana when an execution date is set.

34 - O. G. Mack

An American gang leader, known for founding the One Eight Trey Gangsters and United Blood Nation while serving time at Rikers Island.

Convicted of ten counts of criminal activity, including racketeering, murder, conspiracy, credit card fraud, and drug trafficking he was moved too, from and then back too ADX Florence.

He was profiled in an episode of the documentary series Gangsters: America's Most Evil in 2018 and is currently serving a 50-year sentence.

33 - Jeff Fort

Also known as Abdul Malik Ka'bah, Fort is an American gangster and former gang leader from Chicago, Illinois.

After helping to found the co-founded the Black P. Stones gang, he was convicted of conspiracy and weapons charges, for plotting to commit attacks inside the U.S. and ordering a murder.

After attempting to receive $2.5 million from Libya and drug trafficking in 1983 he was sentenced to 168-years in federal prison meaning he will spend the rest of his life at ADX Florence.

32 - Luis Felipe

Cuban-American former gang leader Luis Felipe is the founder of the New York arm of the Latin Kings.

Convicted of ordering multiple murders from prison, he was sentenced to life imprisonment plus 45 years without parole and the express permission of the court that he serve the sentence in solitary confinement.

He forbade him to write or be visited by anyone except his lawyer and close relatives and no, Felipe has no close relatives meaning guards and his lawyer are his only contacts for the rest of his life.

31 - Francisco Javier Arellano-Felix

Former Mexican drug lord who alongside his brothers founded and led the Tijuana Cartel, Francisco ran one of the largest drug cartels in Mexico.

Well known for its employment of enforcers, many street gangsters were trained to become assassins with the cartel at one point responsible for supplying half the cocaine sold in the United States.

Arellano-Felix was sanctioned under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, a rarely used sanction from the United States Department of the Treasury.

He is one of the few people on the list who may no longer reside at ADX Florence after his life sentence was reduced to 23 and 1⁄2 years and his location was redacted.

30 - José Padilla

Padilla was arrested in 2002 on suspicion of plotting a radiological bomb attack before being moved to a military prison in South Carolina.

Deemed an enemy combatant who was not entitled to trial in civilian courts, he was later moved to a civilian jail in 2006.

Convicted in a federal court of aiding terrorists in 2007, he was initially sentenced to 17 years in prison, later increased to 21 years.

While he is still serving his sentence at ADX Florence, Padilla is expected, at some point, to participate in the prisons step-down project, either moving to a lower security area or a smaller jail entirely.

29 - Akayed Ullah

Sentenced to life in prison for the bombing New York City subway station in 2017, Ullah detonated the bomb which was strapped to his chest in a long, busy passageway.

While there was no evidence he ever communicated directly with ISIS, prosecutors say he followed his uncle to the United States 10 years ago and became an ISIS sympathizer.

While he was sentenced to life, a 30 year sentence was also imposed from one specific charge, meaning will probably die in prison.

28 - Mohamed Rashed Daoud

Mohamed Rashed Daoud Al-Owhali is a British-born Saudi terrorist who was sentenced to life without parole for his part in the 1998 United States embassy bombings.

Originating from a wealthy family, somewhat like Bin-Laden, he attended a private training facility in 1996 and traveled to Kenya on a false passport.

After cooperating with the FBI willingly, he managed to escape the death penalty after jurors failed to unanimously agree on a death sentence.

27 - Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy

Another convicted terrorist, he plotted to carry out an attack on Times Square in New York City and to also attack the subway system.

Sentenced to 40 years in federal prison under intensive solitary confinement, he attacked a USP Allenwood corrections officer and was moved to ADX Florence after being deemed to dangerous to stay anywhere else.

26 - Amor Ftouhi

Sentenced to life imprisonment for stabbing a police officer at the airport in Flint, Michigan, Amor Ftouhi stated in court he would try to kill again if free.

Ftouhi, who lived in Montreal, Canada had only been in the United States for 5 days but tried several times to buy guns.

He was also charged with violence at an international airport and interference with airport security.

25 - Ahmad Khan Rahimi

The ADX facility, as you have probably worked out by now is a terrorist prison, and our next inmate injured 30 people when he set off a bombs in Manhattan and New Jersey.

After a shootout with police he was captured and convicted in 2017 on all eight counts including the use of a weapon of mass destruction and bombing a public place.

Sentenced to multiple-life terms in prison without the possibility of parole, Rahimi was moved to supermax after trying to radicalise others in prison to support Islamic State.

24 - Tarek Mehanna

Convicted of conspiracy to provide material support to al Qaeda, pharmacist Tarek Mehanna was sentenced in April 2012 to 17 years in federal prison.

Also conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country, conspiracy to make false statements to the FBI, and two counts of making false statements, Mehanna appealed his case several times but was unsuccessful.

23 - Wadih el-Hage

A naturalized American citizen, el-Hage was convicted on conspiracy charges for the 1998 United States embassy bombings.

After emigrating to the United States, he developed an interest in militant interpretations of Islamic theology.

After a return from Afghanistan to Nairobi he was arrested and questioned two days later returning to Arlington with his family.

Arrested on his return to the United States, el-Hage denied knowing bin Laden and others accused of the embassy bombings.

Re-sentenced to life without parole in 2013, he is currently held at ADX.

22 - Mohammed Jabarah

After becoming an active member in al-Qaeda circles, he was arrested in 2002 and convicted of terrorism-related offences.

He was accused of violating his release conditions and re-arrested after spending time in a series of safe-houses which were found to contain bomb making equipment.

Held in the Manhattan Detention Center until he was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment and resides at ADMAX.

21 - Mahmud Abouhalima

Another convicted terrorist, this time of the 1993 World Trade Center bombings, Abouhalima, also known as Mahmud the Red, was originally born in egypt.

He returned to the United States after a three year stay in Germany and applied for amnesty under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.

Working as a New York City cabdriver for five years from 1986–1991, he saw his license suspended ten times.

He was the subject of an FBI investigation through January 1993, which was called off days before the first World Trade Center Bombing.

He was sentenced to 240 years in prison but this was cut to 78 years and 4 months on appeal, meaning he is scheduled for release on March 8, 2060 when he will be 101 years old.

20 - Mamdouh Mahmud Salim

Sudanese co-founder of the Islamist terrorist network al-Qaeda, Salim was extradited to the United States and charged with participating in the 1998 United States embassy bombings.

He attempted to escape during his pre-trial incarceration and was convicted of attempted murder after stabbing one prison guard.

He was re-sentenced to life without parole in August 2010 after the original judge failed to rule that the stabbing was not part of a terrorism plot.

Salim is known to have made efforts in 1993 to obtain the components of nuclear weapons.

19 - Ahmed Ressam

Convicted in 2001 of planning to bomb Los Angeles International Airport, Ressam was initially sentenced to 22 years in prison.

He was re-sentenced to 37 years imprisonment in October 2012 after the sentence was found to be unduly lenient.

18 - Anthony Casso

Nicknamed "Gaspipe", American mobster and underboss of the Lucchese crime family Casso was often regarded as a homicidal maniac within the mafia.

Casso admitted several attempts to murder Gambino family boss John Gotti and was later sentenced to 455 years in prison for racketeering, extortion, and murder.

He initially served his time in prison at the ADX facility but was transferred to a medical facility for the treatment of prostate cancer in March 2009.

He spent another four years at ADX before being moved to a halfway house and then onto the United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners.

Casso by this time was seriously ill, suffering from coronary artery disease, kidney disease, hypertension, bladder disease and lung issues from years of smoking.

He was placed in medical isolation USP Tucson before being moved to hospital in respiratory distress and later put on a ventilator.

He died on December 15, 2020, at the age of 78

17 - Umar Abdulmutallab

Popularly referred to as the "Underwear Bomber" or "Christmas Bomber", this Nigerian-born terrorist attempted to detonate plastic explosives while on board Northwest Airlines Flight 253.

Having been supplied the bomb by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Abdulmutallab was convicted in a U.S. federal court of eight federal criminal counts.

Charges included attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and attempted murder of 289 people.

He was sentenced to 4 life terms plus 50 years without parole, for which there is really only one place he can be kept, ADX.

16 - Sulaiman Abu Ghaith

Sulaiman Abu Ghaith is a Kuwaiti whom is regarded as one of al-Qaeda's most prominent spokesmen.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment on guilty charges of conspiring to kill Americans and providing material support to terrorists.

Ghaith appeared in several videos with Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri, most notably in the caves of Afghanistan.

15 - Dzhokhar Tsarnaev

Kyrgyz-American terrorist Tsarnaev was convicted of perpetrating the Boston Marathon bombing by planting pressure cooker bombs near the finish line of the race.

After killing three people and injuring approximately 280 others, he was was found guilty on all thirty counts of the indictment at trial.

Charges ranging from usage of a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death, in addition to aiding and abetting, he was sentenced to death on six of seventeen capital murder counts.

His death sentence was formally delivered on June 24, 2015 where he apologized to the injured and the bereaved in the bombings.

Originally scheduled to reside at Terre Haute death row, unique security management requirements caused the agency to place Tsarnaev in Colorado.

14 - James Marcello

Known by many nicknames such as "Little Jimmy", "Jimmy Light" and "Jimmy the Man", Marcello was a front boss for the Chicago Outfit of the US mafia.

He received a twelve and a half year sentence in 1995 for financing long-time mobster Lenny Patrick's juice-loan operation and racketeering charges.

Later in 2005 he was indicted on murder and racketeering charges with his younger half-brother, Michael "Mickey" Marcello.

He was convicted of murder on February 5th, 2009 and was sentenced to life imprisonment, but many appeals followed.

After virtually exhausting his appeals he was transferred to another prison and appears to have now ended up at ADX Florence for reasons unknown.

13 - Timothy McVeigh

A former member of the ADX institution, McVeigh was executed on 11 June 2001 at Terre Haute, Indiana, United States Penitentiary for his role in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people.

The deadliest act of terrorism in the United States prior to the September 11 attacks, McVeigh sought revenge against the government for the 1993 Waco siege that killed 82 people.

He sat on death row for only six years, a considerably shorter time than for most inmates awaiting the death penalty.

McVeigh was housed on an ADX block known as bomber's row, alongside Luis Felipe and Ramzi Yousef before his transfer in 1999.

McVeigh, a gulf war veteran was denied burial in any military cemetery and was instead cremated.

12 - Richard Reid

Another famous inmate to reside at the Supermax, Reid is known as the "Shoe Bomber", a British terrorist who attempted to detonate a shoe bomb on a transatlantic flight in 2001.

His father was a career criminal and Reid converted to Islam as a young man in prison while later being radicalised by hook wielding cleric Abu Hamza.

Reids convictions are extensive and include Attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, attempted homicide, attempted murder, attempted destruction of an aircraft and placing or transporting an explosive or incendiary device on an aircraft.

He received three consecutive life sentences and 110 years without parole after conviction and fined $2 million.

11 - Tyler Bingham

Thought to be one of the three most powerful leaders of the Aryan Brotherhood gang, he was indicted on charges of murder, conspiracy, drug trafficking, and racketeering and for ordering killings and beatings from their cells.

Convicted of Murder, its thought that due to his gang affiliations, he was considered to dangerous to be housed anywhere other than ADX Florence, and today that is where he resides.

10 - Simón Trinidad

The first high-ranking member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia to be captured, Trinidad is currently serving a 60-year sentence in solitary confinement at ADX.

Believed to once be in command of FARC's infamous Caribbean Bloc, its thought he helped kidnap many people giving the region the highest kidnap rate in all of Colombia.

Often quoted as dismissing international humanitarian law, Trinidad announced that the group was going to attack any aircraft or troops that damaged poppy plants in Columbia.

Captured in 2004, he was deported to Colombia from Ecuador and faced charges for rebellion, kidnapping and assassination of a Colombian former minister.

He received hung jury's in four month long trials and all drug related charges were dropped, however his 60 year term still stood for kidnapping and attempted murder.

9 - Dwight York

Former musician, and writer best known as the founding leader of several black Muslim groups in New York, he is now a convicted criminal, pedophile, child molester.

He has claimed on several occasions to be an extraterrestrial master teacher but as his projected release date is July 12, 2120, he probably wont be returning to his home planet, or anywhere else for that matter.

8 - David Lane

Now deceased, Lane was a revered figure among white nationalists and his death was met with demonstrations held in at least five U.S. cities as well as England, Germany, Russia and Ukraine.

Serving a 190-year sentence for racketeering, conspiracy and violating the civil rights of Denver talk radio host Alan Berg, he died at Terre Haute, federal prison, Indiana

Former member of terrorist organization The Order, Lane was Author of the Fourteen Words, the best-known slogan of the modern white supremacist movement in North America.

Lane was considered extremely dangerous by the American justice system and spent considerable time at ADX Florence and other maximum security institutions.

He passed away due to an epileptic seizure on May 28, 2007.

7 - Larry Hoover

Former American gang leader and co-founder of the Chicago street gang, Gangster Disciples, Larry Hoover was sentenced to 200 years for a 1973 murder.

He received a second life sentence in 1997 for conspiracy, extortion, money laundering, and running a continuing criminal enterprise by leading the gang from state prison.

Having stated that he is no longer part of the Gangster Disciples, he is currently serving time at ADX mainly on the basis of his former high profile gang connections... and probably to protect him from harm.

6 - Michael Swango

One of the more dangerous people locked up at the ADX facility, Swango is estimated to have been involved in as many as 60 fatal poisonings of patients and colleagues.

Although admitting to causing only four deaths, he is currently serving three consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole.

His convictions include three counts of First degree murder in New York state and one count of aggravated murder in Ohio.

Swango went to great lengths to cover his tracks after the murders, which began in 1983 and he was not caught until the year 2000 having traversed thee countries and two continents.

After being stabbed by another inmate in prison he was sent to ADX Florence at his own request.

Swango used poisons, usually arsenic, slipping them into the foods and beverages of co-workers, but also used prescribed medication on patients in hospital.

5 - Ted John Kaczynski

Considered to be one of the most dangerous terrorists in US history, Ted Kaczynski is also known by his famous nickname, The Unabomber.

He lived as a recluse in a remote cabin without electricity or running water near Lincoln, Montana where he resolved to fight industrialization and its destruction of nature through terrorism.

Kaczynski killed three people and injured 23 others between 1978 and 1995 in a nationwide bombing campaign.

A number of self written dossiers were sent to law enforcement and media organisations advocating a nature-centered form of anarchism.

He was the subject of the longest and most expensive investigation in the history of the FBI and he was finally caught in 1996.

Sentenced to eight consecutive life terms in prison without the possibility of parole.

He resided at ADX Florence for the best part of 23 years and was only moved to the Federal Medical Center, Butner, North Carolina, for unknown health reasons in 2021.

Kaczynski has since indicated that he is suffering from terminal cancer and the identity of most correspondents he had contact with before arrest will remain sealed until 2049.

4 - Terry L. Nichols

Convicted of being an accomplice in the Oklahoma City bombing alongside co-conspirator Timothy McVeigh.

In 2004, Nichols was convicted of 161 counts of first degree murder, first-degree arson, and conspiracy.

Sentenced to 161 consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole his jury were deadlocked on the death penalty, sparing him from it but condemning him to die in prison.

He spends his days on the bombers row unit that housed McVeigh and fellow inmates Ramzi Yousef and Eric Rudolph.

3 - Zacarias Moussaoui

Moving into the big three inmates on the list, Zacarias Moussaoui is currently one of the only people to be convicted of direct involvement in the September 11th terrorist attacks.

Serving life in prison without parole for conspiring to kill citizens of the United States, he is also charged with conspiring to hijack planes and crash them.

While Moussaoui was eligible for the death penalty, Germany intervened and refused to release evidence against Moussaoui unless the death penalty was not sought.

Moved from his holding cell in Alexandria, Virginia, he travelled on the famous Con Air and was later described by Bin Laden as not being involved in the plan whatsoever.

2 - El Chapo Guzeman

Newest resident of the Alcatraz of the Rockies, El Chapo Guzeman is a famous drug lord and former leader of the feared Sinaloa Cartel.

Known as a prolific escape artist after fleeing from several maximum security prisons through tunnels, many of his convictions relate to drugs and firearms.

He was sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years, ordered to forfeit more than $12.6 billion and you can rest assured he wont be escaping the most secure US supermax prison.

Criminal convictions include engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, conspiracy to import cocaine, conspiracy to distribute cocaine, distribution of cocaine and Conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Guzeman was never convicted of the many murders he is thought to have ordered or commited, but we can sat for sure, he is never leaving ADX.

Want to know more about El Chapo? Make sure you check out the very cool video at the end.

1 - Ramzi Yousef

One of the main perpetrators of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the bombing of Philippine Airlines Flight 434, he also planned to assassinate Pope John Paul II.

Arrested by Pakistani intelligence in 1995, he was caught trying to set a bomb in a doll.

After his extradition to the United States, Yousef received two life sentences plus 240 years for murder and attempted murder as well as terrorism charges.

His maternal uncle, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is accused of being the principal architect of the September 11 attacks in 2001.

He shares the bombers row unit with several other people already mentioned on the list.

The handcuffs Ramzi Yousef wore when he was captured in Pakistan are displayed at the FBI Museum in Washington, D.C

As with most other people on the list, he will most likely die at ADX.

Thanks for reading this article on the top 46 most dangerous prisoners who are locked up in ADX Florence, the worlds most secure prison, please throw a like on the video at the top to support the on-going series, comment below if you think I missed anything and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more great content coming soon.