By Melanie Wilcox, Daily Caller News Foundation | May 04, 2025
President Donald Trump announced Sunday evening that he wants to bring back one of America’s most feared prisons — Alcatraz — and make it bigger than ever. In a Truth Social post that lit up the internet, Trump said that the infamous island prison off the coast of San Francisco should be “rebuilt, enlarged, and reopened” to incarcerate the nation’s “most ruthless and violent offenders.”
Trump slammed what he called a “justice system too afraid to act” and took aim at activist judges, sanctuary cities and the Biden administration’s border failures, saying that violent criminals are allowed to roam free while Americans live in fear.
Trump outlined a plan to direct the Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, FBI and Homeland Security to carry out the reopening of Alcatraz — this time, with a significant expansion. Trump described the future facility as a “symbol of Law, Order, and JUSTICE.”
The original Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary operated from 1934 to 1963 on a 22-acre island in San Francisco Bay, a mile and a quarter from shore. The rocky fortress housed some of the most notorious criminals in American history — including Al Capone and Robert Stroud, the so-called “Birdman of Alcatraz.” With icy waters and shark-infested currents, it was widely considered inescapable, though 14 escape attempts were documented.
Melanie Wilcox is a contributor at the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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