Burns was arrested in 1917 while picketing the White House and was sent to Occoquan Workhouse. In jail, Burns joined Alice Paul and many other women in hunger strikes to demonstrate their commitment to their cause, asserting that they were political prisoners. Burns was prepared for the hunger strikes since she had previously participated in this and been force-fed in prison in Britain with the WSPU. Being imprisoned did not stop Burns' activism. From within the workhouse she organized protests with other prisoners.