Former U.S. President Donald Trump has once again emphasized his hardline stance on crime, this time suggesting the return of one of the country’s most infamous prisons—Alcatraz. The announcement was made on May 4 through his social media platform, Truth Social.
In his post, Trump expressed concern over the rising threat posed by repeat offenders, describing them as individuals who bring “misery and suffering” to American society. “REBUILD, AND OPEN ALCATRAZ!” he wrote, calling for the revival of the shuttered San Francisco island facility as a symbol of strength and order.
Reflecting on a time he described as “more serious,” Trump stated that the U.S. once had no hesitation in isolating violent offenders from society. He argued that a similar approach is now urgently needed, particularly to combat what he called a wave of “filth, bloodshed, and mayhem” brought by serial criminals.
Trump outlined a plan to involve multiple federal agencies—including the Bureau of Prisons, the Department of Justice, the FBI, and Homeland Security—in revamping and expanding the historic prison. “This new version of Alcatraz will serve as a detention center for the most violent and lawless offenders in America,” he declared.
The former president also pointed to broader concerns over what he views as judicial inaction and the inability to effectively remove undocumented immigrants who commit crimes. Reopening Alcatraz, he said, would serve as a powerful message for law enforcement, reinforcing themes of law, order, and national justice.
Alcatraz Island, located in San Francisco Bay, originally served as a military fortification before becoming a federal prison in the 1930s. Known for housing infamous criminals such as Al Capone and George “Machine Gun” Kelly, the facility was eventually closed in 1963. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the closure was largely due to the high cost of maintaining operations on the remote island—expenses that were nearly triple those of typical prisons.
Whether Trump’s proposal will be pursued or prioritized remains unclear. Restoring Alcatraz as a functional prison would likely require significant funding and time due to its current state and isolated location. Nonetheless, the former president’s call to action has reignited public interest in the historic facility and sparked fresh debate over the future of criminal justice policy in the United States.