Winnfield, Louisiana, is not home to much. The Louisiana Political Museum is housed there and that’s about it. Well, I take that back. It’s also got a correctional facility, and one it appears Mother Jones was interested in reporting on. Courtesy Charles Crain of the Winnfield Enterprise…

A reporter for a San Francisco-based international publication was arrested in Winn Parish over the weekend for trespassing on Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) property in Gum Springs.

Thirty-three year-old James West, originally from Australia, but who had been staying in an apartment on Sibley Lake in Natchitoches, spent the night in the Winn Parish Jail following his arrest on Friday, March 13. The only identification in West’s possession was an Australian driver’s license, and he was driving a rented car with Texas license plates.

Guards at the Winn Parish Correctional Center saw the light from his cell phone, but he drove off in his car when he saw them approach. The Winn Parish Sheriff’s Office was contacted, and he was pulled over after they set up a perimeter around the grounds.

The update for the story is even better:

[Update; 3/17/15, 3:46 p.m.] It has been revealed that a CCA employee who did not appear for work on Monday morning following this arrest officially resigned this morning. The employee is believed to also have been a reporter for the Mother Jones newsmagazine.

The other reporter is believed to be Shane Bauer. You know, the one who was detained by Iran in 2009 for hiking there with two others. CenLamar, the site that broke the bogus [mc_name name=’Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA)’ chamber=’house’ mcid=’S001176′ ] story months back, is saying Bauer was the employee. Apparently, there was someone named “Shawn Bauer” working there, so there’s that. But, why was Mother Jones involved here?

Louisiana has an incredibly high prison population, and there are always reports of issues, but what makes Winn Correctional special? It’s privately owned. Louisiana, in order to cut costs, has sold off prisons to private companies, and you know just how much the Left dislikes privately-owned businesses doing jobs they think the state should be doing.

However, West screwed the pooch so thoroughly that it’s actually illegal in most states. His getting arrested and Bauer’s suspected involvement make this a failed operation. So far, Mother Jones, West, and Bauer have remained quiet about the issue.