Trump calls for reopening Alcatraz to stalemate with tourists, they ask: Why and how

PAIRONKI CALIFORNIA – The exhibition of the infamous federal prison decades ago was closed and preserved as a national park ruin and tourist attraction, inviting visitors to imagine being a guard or prisoner confined to a lonely, imprisoned in lonely, foggy rock.

But on Monday, the day after President Trump posted on social media, he wanted to reopen nearly a hundred-year-old prison, “significantly expand and rebuild Alcatraz to accommodate America’s most brutal and violent criminals,” many visitors are imagining a very different role: it could be a construction manager, and they might actually have to figure out how to make this happen.

“I’m all for [Trump] It's doing this, but it doesn't make much sense. Beverly Klir, 63, said he was an enthusiastic Trump supporter who visited from Chicago. “I believe in Gitmo [the prison at Guantanamo Bay] Probably better. That's where they all belong. They don't belong here. ”

She and her husband stood among pink flowers on the island's rough bluffs, looking at the Golden Gate Bridge, a pair of Canadian geese and three vague ducklings. Behind them are vaguely visible to the prison, the fortress-like exterior walls on the exterior are also proof of age and weather, stucco collapse, masonry deterioration and leaking joints.

In the higher position on the island, outside of three-story cells, where some of the most uncheckable prisoners in the United States once locked in the original cells, the 10-year-old Melody Garcia, visiting with Concord, seems equally confusing. “Most Alcatraz is broken down,” she said.

Still, within hours of Trump's announcement, the Bureau of Prisons issued a statement saying it was already working.

“The Bureau of Prisons will vigorously pursue all avenues to support and implement the president’s agenda,” said BOP Director William K. Marshall III. “I have ordered an immediate assessment to determine our needs and what we next. USP Alcatraz has a rich history. We look forward to restoring this powerful symbol of law, order and justice.”

Meanwhile, many California officials responded with a series of ridicule and attention. A spokesman for Gov. Gavin Newsom dismissed the announcement, aiming to distract voters from grim economic news. State Senator Scott Wiener (D-san Francisco) called it “No Forest”. But he also warned: “When Donald Trump says something, he means it” and speculated that Trump might want to “open a gulag in the United States”

The U.S. government's presence on Alcatraz began in the 1850s, building a fortress with cannons to defend San Francisco from hostile ships.

Soon after, U.S. officials also began using it as a military prison. During the Civil War, crew members of a Confederate ship and union soldiers convicted of rape, murder, deserter and other crimes were imprisoned. The U.S. Army will also hope that the Apache and Modoc Indians will be locked there.

In 1934, Alcatraz opened as the official federal prison, targeting men who escaped from other federal prisons, or performing poorly. Among its famous prisoners are Al Capone and George “Machine Gun” Kelly.

The prison, known as the “Rock”, has the ability of 336 men, occupying a place in the remote island of despair in pop culture. “Everyone wants to be a human being,” said former prisoner James Quillen. “You want to be a human being. And you're not on the 'rock.'”

Apart from being strong, prisons are concerned that maintenance and operation are expensive. In fact, it was so expensive that in 1963, then General Patney Robert F. Kennedy ordered the closure.

Demon historian John Martini said that the prison was closed in part because it was built with a flawed building method and was rotting, and “elevating it to the standard is a money pit…it is easier to build a new prison.”

Six years later, the island achieved a prominent position in Native American history when a group of Native American activists landed on the island and declared their occupation under the name of “Indians of all tribes.” The profession lasted for 19 months and helped awaken the attention of Native Americans in the country.

When federal agents moved into the last occupier in 1971, officials planned to overturn the whole thing. But in 1972, Congress created the Kinmen National Entertainment District, and the island became one of the most popular attractions in San Francisco. More than 1.4 million people visit each year, crossing the wet cell blocks and attending exhibitions occupied by Native Americans.

Trump said in his call for the reopening of the demon that its repair will “become a symbol of law, order and justice.”

But Golden Gate National Parks Consermant, a nonprofit organization, issued a statement Monday saying the prison's body is a historic landmark and educational destination that has played a major role.

“The demon has been without a prison for more than 60 years,” the organization said in its statement. “Today, it is a powerful symbol – a national historic landmark that has been preserved throughout history, a transformative national park experience and a global reflection site… This is where history says – we learn from the past to shape a bright future.”

John Kostelnik, West Region Vice President of the Western Regional Prison Commission 33, said the idea of ​​reopening Alcatraz is not only a “irresponsible” federal funding, but also a slap in the face of prisoners who have long complained about low wages.

“It seems very hypocritical that they come in and say they will improve the efficiency of the government and all of this stuff, and now they say they are going to throw hundreds of millions of dollars into a symbol,” Costelnik said.

The BOP said in December it was closing its struggling federal prison in Dublin, California, about 30 miles east of San Francisco, and five minimum security prison camps in states from Florida to Colorado. The bureau said in a document obtained by the Associated Press that it is closing facilities to address “significant challenges, including severe staff shortages, collapsed infrastructure and limited budget resources.”

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie’s office directed an inquiry on the National Park Service proposal, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Visitors roaming the island on Monday seemed to be focused on two questions: how and why?

Daniel Mulvad, 24, said: “It's not ready. It's not ready, shape or form. He noted that the cost of renovating the structure would be astronomical and seems to be meaningless because, as a tourist attraction, Alcatraz seems to bring in a lot of revenue through ticket sales and merchandise.

“You have to really…refabricate,” Sacramento 26-year-old Alyssa Sibley stood in an old shower room, staring at crude oil and rusty bathroom fixtures.

A 34-year-old French psychologist on vacation in California, sees it as a “terrible idea.” “He has new ideas every day,” Valentine said of Trump, and most of them “caused buzz” and attracted attention.

Kristin Nichols of Palm Springs, 60, visited with her family, said she was particularly moved by the exhibition about Native American occupation as a person from Chickasaw.

“It costs money to do this…” “I will question the purpose.”

“It's a place with a long history and if they turn it back to prison, it's going to ruin all history,” she added.