US Politics
Trump sends embattled Pam Bondi to Alcatraz prison in re-opening bid
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Two senior Trump officials visited Alcatraz Thursday to announce plans to convert it back into a federal prison, which one Democrat called the president’s “stupidest initiative yet.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi, who has been mired in controversy since the contentious release of the Epstein Files last week, and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum visited the island in San Francisco Bay.
Sharing photos from a boat on the way to the island, as well as inside the prison, Burgum wrote on X, “Spent the day on Alcatraz Island, a @NatlParkService site, to start the work to renovate and reopen the site to house the most dangerous criminals and illegals. This administration is restoring safety, justice, and order to our streets. @Interior & @TheJusticeDept are following a directive by @POTUS to help lead that mission.”
In an interview with Fox News from the facility, Burgum claimed, “Alcatraz is the brand known around the world for being effective at housing people that are in incarceration. “
“Its original use was a prison, and so part of this [visit] would be to test the feasibility of returning it back to its original use,” he said.
Meanwhile, Bondi tweeted, “A great morning at Alcatraz with @SecretaryBurgum. Under President Trump, we are Making America Safe Again.”
The White House didn’t confirm the duo’s visit before their online remarks, but a plane marked “United States of America” arrived in the Bay Area Wednesday night, accompanied by officials and a police-led motorcade.
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The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.
Trump first proposed reopening Alcatraz as a prison in May, calling the island “a sad symbol, but it’s a symbol of law and order.”
Bureau of Prisons officials subsequently visited the island at Trump’s direction to evaluate the feasibility of reopening it as a high-security prison for violent offenders.
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Golden Gate National Recreation Area superintendent David Smith said the bureau had conducted initial assessments and planned to return for further structural evaluations.
Alcatraz is safe for visitors and maintained by the National Park Service, but some buildings have deteriorated, and restoration could cost over $1 billion.
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Alcatraz, which once housed notorious inmates Al Capone, George “Machine Gun” Kelly, Robert Stroud (the “Birdman of Alcatraz”), and James “Whitey” Bulger, closed in 1963 due to high operating costs. It became part of the Golden Gate National Parks in 1972 and opened to the public the following year.
Alcatraz generates around $60 million annually in tourism and has been featured in several films, including The Rock, Escape from Alcatraz, Birdman of Alcatraz, Murder in the First, Point Blank, and X-Men: The Last Stand.
The idea of transforming Alcatraz back into a prison has attracted heavy criticism from state and local leaders. California Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi called it Trump’s “stupidest initiative yet.”
“It should concern us all that clearly the only intellectual resources the Administration has drawn upon for this foolish notion are decades-old fictional Hollywood movies,” her office said in a statement.
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San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie noted: “There’s no realistic plan to make Alcatraz reopen as anything other than a wonderful attraction than it currently is.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom’s Press Office added: “Pam Bondi will reopen Alcatraz the same day Trump lets her release the Epstein files. So… never.”
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Charlie Hopkins, one of the last living Alcatraz inmates, told ABC7 New York that he doubts Trump actually wants to reopen the prison and was instead trying to draw attention to the crime rate.
“When I was on Alcatraz, a rat couldn’t survive,” Hopkins, now in his 90s, said.
