Alcatraz stopped being a prison in 1963, before I was born. I did take a tour of it on a trip to San Francisco decades ago and I remember it seemed small and pretty run down even then. But mostly in my lifetime what I remember is the movies about it. There was The Rock in 1996 starring Sean Connery and there were two Clint Eastwood movies set there, Escape from Alcatraz and The Enforcer.
But yesterday, President Trump announced on Truth Social that he was interested in reopening Alcatraz to once again make it a prison for the worst offenders. He posted his statement on X this morning.
REBUILD, AND OPEN ALCATRAZ! 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…
