Former FBI Agent Alternative to Reopening Alcatraz

If President Donald Trump’s plans to reopen Alcatraz as a prison falls through, one former FBI agent claims he has a better idea — a place “nobody can hear you scream.” That place is San Clemente Island, Jonathan…

Sandra RhodesMay 7, 20253 min read

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“That is a perfect location that’s close enough and you could build a prison out there for same or less amount of money,” Gilliam said. “Just the isolation of it would send shock factors through the minds of a lot of these people. You would not want to go there because there’s nothing there.”

Gilliam spoke in response to Trump’s announcement on social media Sunday night.

“REBUILD, AND OPEN Alcatraz!” Trump wrote on X. “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.”

Trump directed several agencies, including the Bureau of Prisons, Department of Justice, FBI and Department of Homeland Security, to develop plans to reopen a “substantially enlarged and rebuilt” Alcatraz prison that would “house America’s most ruthless and violent Offenders.” He said the reopening of Alcatraz “will serve as a symbol of Law, Order, and JUSTICE.”

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Gilliam said San Clemente trumps Alcatraz since “nobody can hear you scream out there.”

Gilliam admitted reopening Alcatraz would send a message to criminals.

“I think the key to Alcatraz was always that it stood alone, you couldn’t escape it and the most hardened criminals were there. So it was a scary place to be,” he said. “And so I think as long as that stays with it, then it’ll serve as a deterrent, I would think.”

In his social media post, Trump said the most serious criminals would be placed in a revamped Alcatraz.

“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 added. “No longer will we tolerate these Serial Offenders who spread filth, bloodshed, and mayhem on our streets.”Alcatraz was opened in 1934 and closed in 1963. It’s now a tourist destination.