President Donald Trump recently stated he had ordered the reopening of Alcatraz prison.
Alcatraz, which is currently a museum and national park, was used as a maximum security prison from 1850 to 1963.
President Trump claimed Alcatraz, being a symbol of law and order, should be reopened to assist the US in deterring crime by housing the nation’s most serious criminals there.
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“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,” explained Trump via Truth Social. “That’s the way it’s supposed to be.”
According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Alcatraz first opened as a military base in the 1850s and would host military prisoners there.
“Today, 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,” continued Trump.
In 1933, Alcatraz was transferred to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for use as a federal prison.
Since then and until its closing in 1963, Alcatraz became infamous for hosting the nation’s most notorious criminals.
Inmates held at Alcatraz include figures like Al Capone, George "Machine-Gun" Kelly, Alvin Karpis (the first "Public Enemy #1"), and Arthur "Doc" Barker
Alcatraz ultimately closed after the US government calculated it would be cheaper to build a new maximum detention center than to maintain Alcatraz.
According to BOP, Alcatraz was three times more expensive to operate than other similar prisons.
Trump did not mention how expensive reopening and enlarging Alcatraz would cost but reiterated his belief that the prison be reopened when asked about it by a journalist.
Trump cited “radicalized judges” for requiring that criminal illegal immigrants be granted complete trials before deportation as motivating his initiative to re-enable Alcatraz to house criminals.
“It's a symbol of law and order and it's got quite a history, frankly — so I think we're going to do that, and we're looking at it right now,” said Trump.
