Historian calls Alcatraz reopening as prison unfeasible amid Trump’s proposal

John Martini, a local historian, has dismissed the idea of reopening Alcatraz as a federal prison, calling the structure “totally inoperable.”

Speaking to the San Francisco Chronicle, Martini explained, “There is no water, no sewage and only some parts of the building have electricity,” Caliber.Az reports.

“It was falling apart and needed huge amounts of reconstruction, and that would have only brought it up to 1963 code,” he added.

“If the discussion is to rebuild the prison building to hold people, I don’t think that would be feasible. It would have to be torn down and rebuilt,” Martini said.

His remarks came in response to President Donald Trump’s announcement on Truth Social that he has directed federal law enforcement agencies to “reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt Alcatraz, to house America’s most ruthless and violent offenders.”

“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, to house America’s most ruthless and violent offenders,” Trump wrote.

“We will no longer be held hostage to criminals, thugs, and judges that are afraid to do their job and allow us to remove criminals, who came into our country illegally,” he noted.

Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi dismissed the proposal: “Alcatraz closed as a federal penitentiary more than sixty years ago. It is now a very popular national park and major tourist attraction.”

State Senator Scott Wiener called the idea “absurd on its face,” adding, “It’s a museum that generates significant revenue... and supports many jobs.” He said the proposal was “just one more step in [Trump’s] dismantling of democracy — a domestic gulag right in the middle of San Francisco Bay.”

There is currently no executive order on Alcatraz published on the White House website.

By Vafa Guliyeva