Donald Trump has announced plans to reopen and expand the former Alcatraz prison, located on an island near San Francisco, California.
In a post shared Sunday on his Truth Social platform, the former president stated that he is instructing federal agencies—including the Bureau of Prisons, Department of Justice, FBI, and Homeland Security—to revamp the historic facility to detain what he described as “America’s most ruthless and violent offenders.”
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Trump said the move is in response to rising concerns about violent repeat offenders in the United States and would represent a renewed commitment to “law, order, and justice.”
Alcatraz, originally a military fort before becoming a federal prison in the 1930s, was closed in 1963 due to high operating costs. It is now a popular tourist destination known for housing infamous criminals such as Al Capone and George “Machine Gun” Kelly.
Trump’s announcement comes amid ongoing controversy over his previous initiatives to send alleged gang members to prisons abroad, including a recent case involving over 200 Venezuelan nationals sent to a high-security facility in El Salvador. He has also floated the idea of sending domestic criminals to foreign prisons.
Trump emphasized that the reimagined Alcatraz would be significantly expanded and modernized to serve as a maximum-security facility for the most dangerous inmates.
The idea has sparked debate, particularly given Alcatraz’s historical and cultural significance, as well as the logistical and financial challenges tied to operating a prison on an island.
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