President Donald Trump has vowed to ‘rebuild and open Alcatraz’ as he seeks to crack down on violent criminals and make America safer.

In a post shared to TruthSocial on Sunday night, Trump said ‘the reopening of ALCATRAZ will serve as a symbol of Law, Order, and JUSTICE.’

Trump has instructed the Bureau of Prisons to collaborate with the Department of Justice, FBI, and Homeland Security to ‘reopen a significantly larger and renovated’ Alcatraz.

He said the notorious facility, which once held famed gangster Al Capone, will ‘house America’s most ruthless and violent Offenders.

‘For a long time, the United States has been troubled by brutal, aggressive, and repetitive Criminal Offenders, the lowest members of society, who will never bring anything but Misery and Suffering.’

‘In earlier, more solemn times, we were not reluctant to imprison the most hazardous criminals and isolate them from anyone they could injure.’

‘That’s the way it’s supposed to be. No longer will we tolerate these Serial Offenders who spread filth, bloodshed, and mayhem on our streets.’

Trump said reopening Alcatraz will free him and hardworking Americans from being ‘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.’

Alcatraz was a maximum security federal prison off the coast of San Francisco which was closed in 1963 after 29 years of operation

In a post shared to TruthSocial on Sunday night, Trump vowed ‘the reopening of ALCATRAZ will serve as a symbol of Law, Order, and JUSTICE’

President Donald Trump has vowed to ‘rebuild and open Alcatraz’ as he seeks to crack down on violent criminals and make America safer

The order comes as Trump has repeatedly clashed with the courts as he tries to send accused gang members and illegal migrants to a notorious prison in El Salvador. 

Several judges have ruled he must grant deportees due process. Trump has also floated potentially sending American citizens there and to other foreign prisons. 

Now, it appears he’s found a new solution which could save him the trouble of battling with judges about the legality of deportations.  

Alcatraz was a maximum security federal prison off the coast of San Francisco which was closed in 1963 after 29 years of operation.

According to the Bureau of Prisons (BOP), an estimated $3 million to $5 million was needed just for restoration and maintenance work to keep the prison open. 

‘That figure did not include daily operating costs – Alcatraz was nearly three times more expensive to operate than any other Federal prison (in 1959 the daily per capita cost at Alcatraz was $10.10 compared with $3.00 at USP Atlanta).’ 

The main expense was due to the fact that Alcatraz was an island and all of the goods had to be shipped there by boat. 

The BOP added: ‘The island had no source of fresh water, so nearly one million gallons of water had to be barged to the island each week. 

‘The Federal Government found that it was more cost-effective to build a new institution than to keep Alcatraz open.’ 

Following the announcement of its closure, signed off by U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy, Alcatraz’s population was slowly whittled down, with inmates redistributed to other federal prisons. 

There were 1,576 prisoners held in Alcatraz over that time and it was notorious for its primative conditions.

There were 1,576 prisoners held in Alcatraz over that time and it was notorious for its primative conditions

Al Capone’s mugshot when he arrived at Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary August 22, 1934

One image captures a prison chef at Alcatraz with a Christmas menu from 1950 outlined above him 

Bank robbing trio Frank Morris, Clarence Anglin, and John Anglin famously escaped in 1962, leaving behind dummy heads made of plaster and human hair to fool the guards. 

They were never found. Some suspect they didn’t survive the frigid waters and strong currents, but their daring escape also sparked wild theories that they’d made it ashore and adopted new lives. 

The brothers and Morris tunneled out their cells, crept through ventilation ducts and through an unguarded utility door before fleeing into the shark-infested bay on a handmade raft.

Before Alactraz permanently closed its doors in 1963, there were a total of 14 separate escapes involving 36 inmates.

According to reports 23 were captured, six were shot and killed during the attempt, two drowned and five were never found. 

Historic photos reveal what life was like at the island-bound jail, also known as The Rock, with everything from the cultivated gardens to the bustling mess hall and the bulletproof main guard’s office on show. 

There were 378 cells at the prison in total with this number including isolation cells. The cell pictured is adorned with artworks made by the inmate in a bid to brighten things up

Alcatraz, which is set on a rocky outcrop 1 mile offshore from San Francisco, operated for 29 years as a penitentiary and during that time it held some of America’s most dangerous criminals, including Al Capone and George ‘Machine Gun’ Kelly

One image captures a prison chef standing still for the camera with a Christmas menu from 1950 outlined above him. Some of the kitchen delights the inmates had to look forward to during their festive meal included roast turkey, giblet gravy, candied sweet potatoes, raisin nut dressing, whipped potatoes, and bread with butter substitute ‘oleo.’

In 1972, Alcatraz was added to the newly created Golden Gate National Recreation Area and was opened to the public in 1973 as a historical landmark.

Today the former prison welcomes more than 1.5 million visitors a year.

Tickets sell out nearly every day, sometimes weeks in advance, for audio tours of the main cell block and recreation yard plus the chance to stroll past the island’s gardens and ruined buildings.