The Fulton County Jail in Atlanta unconstitutionally subjects inmates to “inhumane, violent and hazardous conditions” that threaten their safety, a US Justice Department official said Thursday, announcing the results of a 16-month investigation.

Fulton County, Georgia, and its sheriff's office violated the constitutional rights of people housed at the county jail, according to a new report released by the Justice Department on Thursday. "Fulton County Jail fails to adequately protect incarcerated people from the substantial risk of serious harm from violence,

U.S. Justice Department officials said jail officials in Georgia’s most populous county violate the constitutional rights of people in their custody by failing to protect them from violence, using excessive force and holding them in filthy and unsafe conditions.

The Justice Department found that Fulton County Jail in Georgia violates constitutional laws, with conditions leading to violence, neglect, and deaths.

Protesters rallied outside the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta on Thursday, calling for Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat to take immediate action following the recent release of a DOJ report.

The protests come a week after the U.S. Justice Department's shocking report calling the conditions at the Fulton County Jail "unconstitutional, unlawful and dangerous."