Legal experts say Trump can definitely reopen Alcatraz, but could face 'avalanche of lawsuits'
Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett and former General Counsel of the Navy Van Hipp joined "Fox & Friends" on Monday to discuss President Donald Trump's call to reopen the Alcatraz prison in San Francisco, California.
"It's a provocative idea, which may be why Trump is proposing it. So, the sound you hear, are all the liberal heads exploding at the same time. Progressives frown on prisons. They tend to favor nanny daycare for hardened criminals," Jarrett told host Brian Kilmeade.
Trump called for the reopening of the notorious prison in a Truth Social post.
"It is, however, federal property, so this can be done, but it'd have to be rebuilt almost entirely. It's so outdated and crumbling. And here's the important part, it has landmark status. So, there would be an avalanche of lawsuits that would probably tie it up for years. Don't forget, this is California," Jarrett continued.
Hipp, a former U.S. Army deputy assistant secretary, said Trump could "absolutely" reopen Alcatraz.
"For those folks who are complaining it's going to cost too much, it's going to be too difficult to do from a construction standpoint. We've had a builder in this country, the best builder in America for years and years in the commercial sector is a guy by the name of Donald Trump. I think he can give, if they try to slow roll this, and bureaucrats try to do what they like to do, I think the president can give them all the advice they need on how to reopen Alcatraz the right way," he told "Fox and Friends" on Monday.
Alcatraz opened in 1934, but the prison, located on a 22-acre spit of rock, was shuttered after 29 years.
"REBUILD, AND OPEN ALCATRAZ!" the president said on social media. "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."
Trump said he is directing the Bureau of Prisons, Department of Justice, FBI and Department of Homeland Security to reopen a "substantially enlarged and rebuilt" Alcatraz, "to house America's most ruthless and violent offenders."
Hipp told "Fox and Friends" the move was what Americans voted for.
"This is what the American people voted for at large. They're tired of thugs and gangs roaming rampant on our city streets. They're tired of murderers and terrorists coming across our border. And sometimes we forget why we have a federal government. The states came together to provide for the common defense of the American people. That's why we had the federal government, and I think President Trump realizes that it's his most important responsibility," Hipp said.
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