SAN FRANCISCO, CA (KMJ) “Rebuild, and open Alcatraz!” President Trump posted on Truth Social Monday morning.
The startling idea comes 62 years after the notorious maximum-security prison was closed down.
Trump continued “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. That’s the way it’s supposed to be.”
Today, Alcatraz is a museum and a popular tourist destination attracting nearly 1.5 million visitors every year. But not for long, if the President gets his wish.
“I am directing the Bureau of Prisons, together with the Department of Justice, FBI, and Homeland Security, to reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt ALCATRAZ, to house America’s most ruthless and violent offenders,” Trump said.
From 1934-1963 Alcatraz housed many notorious and famous prisoners, such as Al Capone, Machine Gun Kelly, and “Birdman” Robert Shroud. Many prisoners tried their chances at escaping “the rock” located in rocky and cold San Francisco Bay. Alcatraz was a prison that only housed inmates that were transferred. No judge could sentence anyone to Alcatraz. There were 14 escape attempts by 36 different prisoners. 23 were caught, six were shot and killed, two drowned, and five were never heard from again but thought to have drowned.
In 1963 Attorney General, Robert F. Kennedy ordered Alcatraz closed due to high cost of maintaining prison.
