A boat makes its way toward Alcatraz Island with the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in the background in this view from Sausalito, Calif., Dec. 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)2025-05-04T23:18:30Z NEW YORK (AP) President Donald Trump says he is directing his government to reopen and expand Alcatraz, the notorious former prison on a hard-to-reach California island that has been closed for more than 60 years.In a post on his Truth Social site Sunday evening, Trump wrote that, For too long, America has been plagued by vicious, violent, and repeat Criminal Offenders, the dregs of society, who will never contribute anything other than Misery and Suffering. 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. Thats the way its supposed to be.That is why, 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 Americas most ruthless and violent Offenders, he wrote, adding: The reopening of ALCATRAZ will serve as a symbol of Law, Order, and JUSTICE. The prison infamously inescapable due to the strong ocean currents and cold Pacific waters that surround it was known as the The Rock and housed some of the nations most notorious criminals, including gangster Al Capone and George Machine Gun Kelly. It has long been part of the cultural imagination and has been the subject of numerous movies, including The Rock starring Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage. Still in the 29 years it was open, 36 men attempted 14 separate escapes, according to the FBI. Nearly all were caught or didnt survive the attempt.The fate of three particular inmates John Anglin, his brother Clarence and Frank Morris is of some debate and was dramatized in the 1979 film Escape from Alcatraz starring Clinton Eastwood. Alcatraz Island is now a major tourist site that is operate by the National Parks Service and is a designated National Historic Landmark. The closure of the federal prison in 1963 was attributed to crumbling infrastructure and the high costs of repairing and supplying the island facility, because everything from fuel to food had to be brought by boat.A spokesperson for the Bureau of Prisons said in a statement that the agency will comply with all Presidential Orders. The spokesperson did not immediately answer questions from The Associated Press regarding the practicality and feasibility of reopening Alcatraz or the agencys role in the future of the former prison given the National Park Services control of the island.The island serves as a veritable time machine to a bygone era of corrections. The Bureau of Prisons currently has 16 penitentiaries performing the same high-security functions as Alcatraz, including its maximum security facility in Florence, Colorado, and the U.S. penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana, which is home to the federal death chamber.The order comes as Trump has been clashing with the courts as he tries to send accused gang members to a notorious prison in El Salvador, without due process. Trump has also directed the opening of a detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba,to hold up to 30,000 of what he has labeled the worst criminal aliens. The Bureau of Prisons has faced myriad crises in recent years and has been subjected to increased scrutiny after Jeffrey Epsteins suicide at a federal jail in New York City in 2019. An AP investigation uncovered deep, previously unreported flaws within the Bureau of Prisons. AP reporting has disclosed widespread criminal activity by employees, dozens of escapes, chronic violence, deaths and severe staffing shortages that have hampered responses to emergencies, including assaults and suicides.The APs investigation also exposed rampant sexual abuse at a federal womens prison in Dublin, California. Last year, President Joe Biden signed a law strengthening oversight of the agency after AP reporting spotlighted its many flaws.___ Sisak reported from Philadelphia. Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani in West Palm Beach, Florida, and Michael Balsamo in Washington contributed to this report. JILL COLVIN Colvin is an Associated Press national political reporter covering the 2024 presidential campaign. She is based in New York. mailto MICHAEL R. SISAK Sisak is an Associated Press reporter covering law enforcement and courts in New York City, including former President Donald Trumps criminal and civil cases and problems plaguing the federal prison system. twitter mailto