TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - United States President Donald Trump stated on Sunday that he has instructed the Federal Bureau of Prisons to rebuild and reopen the famous Alcatraz Prison in San Francisco Bay. The legendary prison will be reactivated to "house America’s most ruthless and violent Offenders."
"REBUILD, AND OPEN ALCATRAZ!" he wrote on the Truth Social platform, as cited by Channel NewsAsia.
"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."
Alcatraz is a maximum-security federal prison located on a remote island in San Francisco in the Pacific Ocean. The prison was closed in 1963, but it was once the confinement place for some of the most infamous criminals, such as Al Capone, George "Machine-Gun" Kelly, Alvin Karpis (the first labeled a "Public Enemy #1"), and Arthur "Doc" Barker.
The site attracts approximately 1.4 million visitors annually, but Trump has ordered the facility reinstated.
"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," wrote Trump.
Trump cited violent crime and the need to protect American society as the basis for the transfer and plans to utilize the famous island to "house America’s most ruthless and violent Offenders."
"We will no longer be held hostage to criminals, thugs, and Judges that are afraid to do their job and allow us to remove criminals, who came into our Country illegally," the president said in his message on Truth Social as quoted by NBC News.
"The reopening of ALCATRAZ will serve as a symbol of Law, Order, and JUSTICE. We will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
The order was issued as Trump was embroiled in a public conflict with the courts as his administration sought to jail suspected gang members in prisons in El Salvador.
Alcatraz Island was incorporated as part of the National Park Service in 1972 when Congress established the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) website, the prison was closed because it was too costly to operate, especially because of its island location. The operational cost of the prison was almost three times higher than that of other federal prisons, the BOP website stated.
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