Alcatraz prison closed because it was too expensive to run. Now Trump wants to use it again

The Associated Press

· Posted: May 05, 2025 7:28 PM EDT | Last Updated: 26 minutes ago

U.S. President Donald Trump claims helium wants to person Alcatraz backmost into a national prison, decades aft the California land fortress was converted into a U.S. tourer destination due to the fact that it had go excessively costly to house criminals.

The situation disconnected the seashore of San Francisco is wherever the U.S. authorities sent notorious gangsters Al Capone and George "Machine Gun" Kelly, arsenic good arsenic lesser-known men who were considered excessively unsafe to fastener up elsewhere.

Infamous Boston gangster James "Whitey" Bulger served clip successful Alcatraz, arsenic did Canadian slope robber Alvin Karpis, and Soviet spy Morton Sobell.

Circled by herons and gulls and often shrouded successful fog, Alcatraz has been the mounting for movies featuring Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage (The Rock), and Clint Eastwood (Escape from Alcatraz).

Trump says Alcatraz, presently portion of the U.S. National Park Service, abruptly is needed to location America's "most ruthless and violent" criminals.

"When we were a much superior nation, successful times past, we did not hesitate to fastener up the astir unsafe criminals, and support them acold distant from anyone they could harm. That's the mode it's expected to be," Trump said Sunday connected his Truth Social site.

California Democratic authorities Sen. Scott Wiener criticized Trump, saying helium wants to make a "domestic gulag close successful the mediate of San Francisco Bay."

What is Alcatraz?

Alcatraz Island is successful the bay northbound of the city, and disposable from San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. It is champion known for its years arsenic a national prison, from 1934-63, but its past is overmuch longer.

U.S. president Millard Fillmore successful 1850 declared the land for nationalist purposes, according to the parkland service, and it soon became a subject site. Confederates were housed determination during the Civil War.

By the 1930s, the U.S. authorities decided that it needed a spot to clasp the worst criminals, and Alcatraz became the prime for a prison.

"A distant tract was sought, 1 that would prohibit changeless connection with the extracurricular satellite by those confined wrong its walls," the parkland work said.

"Although onshore successful Alaska was being considered, the availability of Alcatraz Island conveniently coincided with the government's perceived request for a high-security prison."

Did it lucifer the Hollywood picture?

Karpis, the Canadian slope robber, served much than 30 years successful prison, including a agelong stretch in Alcatraz. In the 1970s, helium spoke to CBC astir his clip there.

"Was it arsenic awesome, as terrible, arsenic formidable, arsenic Hollywood has led america to believe?" broadcaster Larry Solway asked him during a conversation on CBC's This Monday about him clip connected "the Rock."

"Well, I personally, myself, thought it was 1 of the top frauds ever enactment disconnected connected the American public, myself, arsenic acold arsenic it being a spot filled with murderous 'public enemies,' arsenic they referred to these fellas," Karpis replied. While helium conceded the installation had "their share" of notorious residents, helium asserted it was "not nary much truthful than immoderate different large authorities prison."

Karpis had been paroled and past deported to Canada successful 1969. He aboriginal recalled that the RCMP asked him if helium planned connected hanging retired with members of organized transgression connected this broadside of the border.

"As I explained to the fellow: Do you deliberation I would beryllium stupid enough to archer you, yes, if I was going to be?" helium said during a 1976 interrogation connected CBC's 90 Minutes Live.

Why did it close?

The remoteness of Alcatraz yet made it impractical. Everything from nutrient to substance had to get by boat.

"The land had nary root of caller water," according to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, "so astir 1 cardinal gallons of h2o had to beryllium barged to the land each week."

The outgo to location idiosyncratic determination successful 1959 was $10.10 US a time compared with $3 US astatine a national situation successful Atlanta, the authorities said. It was cheaper to physique a caller situation from scratch.

Why is Alcatraz notorious?

Despite the location, galore prisoners tried to get out: 36 men attempted 14 abstracted escapes into the bay, according to the FBI. Nearly each were caught oregon didn't past the acold h2o and swift current.

In 1969, a radical of Native Americans, mostly assemblage students, claimed to person a humanities close to Alcatraz and began an concern that lasted for 19 months until national authorities intervened successful 1971.

Escape from Alcatraz, a 1979 movie starring Eastwood, told the communicative of John Anglin, his member Clarence and Frank Morris, who each escaped successful 1962, leaving down handmade plaster heads with existent hairsbreadth successful their beds to fool guards.

"For the 17 years we worked connected the case, nary credible grounds emerged to suggest the men were inactive alive, either successful the U.S. oregon overseas," the FBI said.

The Rock, a 1996 fictional thriller with Connery and Cage, centres connected an effort to rescue hostages from rogue Marines connected Alcatraz.

Alcatraz became portion of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and was opened to the nationalist successful 1973, a decennary aft it was closed arsenic a prison.