Amid controversial decisions by President Donald Trump to send accused gang members to foreign prisons and his oft-stated desire to utilize foreign prisons for American citizens, he still managed to surprise everyone with a post on Truth Social.
Trump announced that he wants Alcatraz, the long-shuttered prison on an island off the Bay Area in San Francisco, to reopen. Alcatraz has been a popular tourist destination run by the National Park Service for decades.
"REBUILD, AND OPEN ALCATRAZ!” the President posted on Truth Social on Sunday evening, adding, "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."
He further added the prison would "house America's most ruthless and violent Offenders."
So, how would that work? No one knows. The prison closed because it was too expensive to continue operating, according to the Federal Bureau of Prison website. The BBC added that it "was nearly three times more costly to operate than any other federal prison, largely due to its island location."
Plus, Professor Gabriel Jack Chin from the Davis School of Law at the University of California told the BBC this:
"The federal prison system is actually down about 25% from its peak population and "there are a lot of empty beds" in existing prisons," Chin said, adding, "So its not clear if a new one is needed."
When confronted with questions about his message by reporters Sunday night, Trump said it was "just an idea I've had" to counter the “radicalized judges [that] want to have trials for every single—think of it—every single person that’s in our country illegally.” Alcatraz is “a symbol of law and order,” he said. “It’s got quite a history, frankly.”
Trump's affinity for drama is well-known and so is Alcatraz in the minds of the movie-going public. It housed some of history’s most famous prisoners, from Al “Scarface” Capone to George “Machine Gun” Kelly. And it's been featured in several Hollywood blockbusters, including the 1962 film, "Birdman of Alcatraz", starring Burt Lancaster, the 1979 drama "Escape from Alcatraz" starring Clint Eastwood.
And the 1996 film "The Rock," starring Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage.
The Clint Eastwood drama was the only one based on the real story of Alcatraz's most infamous episode, when three men - Frank Morris, along with brothers John and Clarence Anglin -- managed to break out of their cells and get off the island. Whether they survived the trip to shore depends on who you ask.