When President Donald Trump called for the reopening of Alcatraz in his Truth Social Post Sunday evening, many Americans were reminded of the infamous prison off San Francisco, California.
“Rebuilding and Open Alcatraz!” Trump wrote. “For too long, America has been plagued by vicious, violent, repeated criminal offenders and society’s defeat.
Trump has directed several agencies, including the Prisons Bureau, the Justice Department, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, to develop plans to reopen the Alcatraz prison, which will “substantially expand and rebuild” that will house America’s most ruthless and violent criminals. He said that Alcatraz’s reopening “will serve as a symbol of law, order and justice.”
During that time, as a federal prison for nearly 30 years, Alcatraz had held more than 1,500 prisoners in total. Read about the most infamous prisoners below:
Alcatraz 2.0: FMR. FBI agents surface “perfect” new prison grounds that scare even the most enhanced criminals
Al Capone was charged with tax evasion in 1931. (FBI)
Alcapone
Al Capone spent time in several prisons across America before he was sentenced to Alcatraz. Capone was charged with tax evasion in 1931 and entered a guilty plea on June 16, 1931, but he turned the plea to an acquittal after the FBI stated that the judge had not been held in a plea bargain.
After being convicted on October 18, 1931, Capone was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison and six months in court. While he was about to sue his conviction, Capone was in custody at the Cook County Jail in Illinois.
He began his sentence at the US prison in Atlanta, but was transferred to Alcatraz in 1934 after allegations that Capone was undergoing Cushy Treatment for manipulating the prison system.
Capone was released from Alcatraz in 1939 for good behavior. He spent last year at Alcatraz, hospital after suffering from syphilis.
After being released from Alcatraz, Capone did not return to his old style of life, and was considered by a Baltimore psychiatrist in 1946 to have the spirit of a 12-year-old child.
He died on January 25, 1947 of stroke and pneumonia.
A mug shot of George’s “machine gun” Kelly from the 1920s. (FBI)
George “Machine Gun” Kelly
George Kelly, along with HS’ wife Kathryn Kelly, invited Oklahoma business tycoons Charles F. Urschell and Walter Jarrett on July 22, 1933. Longtime associate Albert Bates also supported the invitation.
On July 26, 1933, Urschel’s best friend, JG Catlett, received a package written by Urschel. The package also received $200,000 in ransom demand.
After the ransom was completed, Urchel finally returned to Japan on July 31, 1933.
Kellys was arrested in Memphis, Tennessee on September 26, 1933 during a law enforcement raid by FBI agents and the Memphis Police Department. During his arrest, George Kelly is said to have famously yelled, “Don’t film, G-Men! Don’t film, G-Men!” According to the FBI.
George Kelly was trapped in Alcatraz from 1934 to 1951. He gets his nickname “machine gun” after his wife bought him a machine gun and encouraged him to enter into a life of crime.
Legal experts say Trump can undoubtedly resume Alcatraz, but could face a “litigation avalanche.”
Robert Stroud killed a corrections officer in 1916. (Prison Bureau)
Robert Stroud – Alcatraz’s “The Bird Man”
In 1909, Robert Stroud killed a bartender who was said to have not paid the prostitute he was suffering from. He was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to prison at the US prison on McNeill Island, Washington. While in federal prison, Stroud attacked another inmate, leading to a transfer to USP Leavenworth, according to the Prison Bureau.
In USP Leavenworth, Stroud killed Andrew Turner’s Correction Officer in 1916.
Stroud was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. In 1920, former President Woodrow Wilson notified him of prison sentences.
While in prison, Stroud had a deep interest in birds and wrote two books on birds and their diseases. The prison officer eventually found contraband hidden inside a bird cage that Stroud had obtained, leading to his transfer to Alcatraz in 1942.
Stroud spent 17 years at Alcatraz before his death on November 21, 1963.
Alvin Karpis, William A. Hamm, Jr. was involved in the 1933 invitation. (FBI)
Alvin ‘Creepy’ Karpis
Alvin Karpis was a member of Barker/Karpis Gang and was involved in many famous temptations.
According to the FBI, Karpis was involved in the 1933 invitation of William A. Hamm, President of Jr., and President of Theodore Hamm Brewing Company. Ham, Junior left the building when he was grabbed by four individuals who thrust him into the car.
Members of Barker/Karpis Gang were responsible for the invitation and demanded a ransom of over $100,000. Ham signed many ransom notes in Wisconsin before being taken to a hideout in Bensenville, Illinois. After the ransom was paid, the ham was released near Wyoming, Minnesota.
Using fingerprinting technology, the FBI used fingerprints on ransom notes to identify suspects of the lunar, Calpis, “doc” barker, Charles Fitzgerald, and other members of the gang.
Calpis was eventually arrested in New Orleans, Louisiana, and was part of the attack in which former FBI director J. Edgar Hoover was arrested on May 2, 1936.
Born in Montreal, Calpis spent ten years in prison for robbery before cooperating with members of the Barker family on more extreme crimes.
Calpis was sentenced to life in prison, but he spent time in various federal prisons, including Alcatraz. He was released on parole in the late 1960s. He got his “creepy” nickname for his smile.
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Morton Sobel
History shows that Morton Sobel was convicted of the crime on behalf of the Soviet Union in 1951, but was found guilty of providing stolen nuclear secrets by the Soviet Union.
He was sentenced to 30 years in prison, of which 18 spent time at Alcatraz before being parole in 1969.
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were charged with Sobell, were sentenced to death through an electric chair.
