President Donald Trump has called for the reopening of the notorious Alcatraz prison located in San Francisco Bay, California.
According to Fox News, Trump wants the landmark prison, which has housed the likes of prohibition-era gangster Al Capone, to be rebuilt larger and reopened to house only the most violent criminals.
In a post on Truth Social Sunday, Trump said the rebuild is needed to keep criminals off the streets.
“REBUILD, AND OPEN ALCATRAZ!” the president said. “For too long, America has been plagued by vicious, violent, and repeat Criminal Offenders, the dregs of society, who will never contribute anything other than Misery and Suffering.”
“When we were a more serious Nation, in times past, we did not hesitate to lock up the most dangerous criminals and keep them far away from anyone they could harm,” Trump said. “No longer will we tolerate these Serial Offenders who spread filth, bloodshed, and mayhem on our streets.”
At Trump’s direction, the Bureau of Prisons, Department of Justice, FBI and Department of Homeland Security have been ordered to reopen a “substantially enlarged and rebuilt” Alcatraz, “to house America’s most ruthless and violent offenders.”
“We will no longer be held hostage to criminals, thugs, and Judges that are afraid to do their job and allow us to remove criminals, who came into our Country illegally,” he said in the post. “The reopening of ALCATRAZ will serve as a symbol of Law, Order, and JUSTICE. We will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Opened in 1934, Alcatraz sits on top of a 22-acre Bay Area Island and was considered escape-proof but had 14 documented escape attempts during its 29-year operation, when it finally closed in 1963.
Some infamous inmates include gangster James “Whitey” Bulger, George “Machine Gun” Kelly, “Public Enemy No. 1” Alvin Karpis, and the “Birdman of Alcatraz” Robert Stroud.
The film “Escape from Alcatraz” was inspired by the 1962 escape of John and Clarence Anglin and Frank Morris. The trio had chiseled their way out the prison, using paper-mache heads as props for guards doing checks.
It is still not known if the three men made it the 1.25-mile distance to shore, and FBI officials have concluded they likely drowned due to the conditions of the water.
Today, Alcatraz Island is operated by the National Park Service and has become a popular San Francisco tourist destination.
