Former President Donald Trump is calling for Alcatraz — the infamous island prison off the coast of San Francisco — to be rebuilt on a larger scale and reopened to detain America’s most violent offenders.

In a post on Truth Social Sunday night, Trump urged federal agencies to bring Alcatraz back into service, saying, “REBUILD, AND OPEN ALCATRAZ!” He argued that the country must take tougher action against repeat violent criminals and called the proposed reopening a return to a more serious era of law enforcement.

“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 wrote.

The former president said he has instructed the Bureau of Prisons, the Department of Justice, the FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security to rebuild and expand Alcatraz. The revamped prison would serve as a secure facility for what he described as the “most ruthless and violent offenders” in the country.

“We will no longer be held hostage to criminals, thugs, and judges that are afraid to do their job,” Trump added. “The reopening of ALCATRAZ will serve as a symbol of Law, Order, and JUSTICE. We will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary opened in 1934 and operated for nearly three decades before closing in 1963 due to high operational costs. Built on a small island 1.25 miles off the coast, Alcatraz was once considered virtually escape-proof. Over its 29 years, there were 14 known escape attempts.

The most famous occurred in 1962, when inmates Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin vanished after digging through their cells and fleeing on a makeshift raft. The FBI concluded they likely drowned, but their disappearance remains one of the prison’s most enduring mysteries.

Alcatraz housed some of America’s most notorious criminals, including Al Capone, James “Whitey” Bulger, George “Machine Gun” Kelly, and Robert Stroud, the “Birdman of Alcatraz.”

Today, the island is managed by the National Park Service and draws over a million tourists annually, offering tours that highlight its storied past.

Trump’s call to revive the facility would mark a dramatic shift in its legacy — from a historical monument to a renewed federal prison designed to project strength and deterrence in the face of rising crime concerns.