Donald Trump directs Bureau of Prisons to reopen Alcatraz
An aerial view shows Alcatraz island in front of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California
Photo:
AFP / Josh Edelson
US President Donald Trump says he is directing the Federal Bureau of Prisons to rebuild and reopen the infamous Alcatraz prison in the San Francisco Bay to "house America's most ruthless and violent Offenders."
"REBUILD, AND OPEN ALCATRAZ!" he posted on the Truth Social platform.
"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."
The federal prison at Alcatraz housed notorious U.S. criminals such as Al Capone before it closed in 1963. It is now one of San Francisco's most popular tourist destinations.
"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," Trump wrote.
The prison was closed because it was too expensive to continue operating, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) website, in large part due to its island location.
It was nearly three times more costly to operate than any other federal prison, the BOP website said.
- Reuters
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IOC member Nicole Hoevertsz, who is chair of the Coordination Commission for LA28, expressed 'every confidence' that the US government will cooperate, as it did in hosting previous Olympics. 'That is something that we will be definitely looking at and making sure that it is guaranteed as well,' she said. 'We are very confident that this is going to be accomplished. I'm sure this is going to be executed well." FIFA didn't immediately respond to a request for comment about the new Trump travel ban. What have other host nations done? The 2018 World Cup host Russia let fans enter the country with a game ticket doubling as their visa. So did Qatar four years later. Both governments, however, also performed background checks on all visitors coming to the month-long soccer tournaments. Governments have refused entry to unwelcome visitors. For the 2012 London Olympics, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko — who is still its authoritarian leader today — was denied a visa despite also leading its national Olympic body. The IOC also suspended him from the Tokyo Olympics held in 2021.
