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  "path": "/news/us/us-news-donald-trump-alcatraz-reopening",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-04T14:01:24.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Met Office issues rare 'danger to life' amber alert as Storm Dave to bring hurricane-force winds",
    "Met Police makes new arrest in connection to Golders Green arson attack",
    "Pastor arrested while preaching returns to street for first time in 4 months",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nUS President Donald Trump is proposing to reopen the notorious Alcatraz prison for $152million (£115million) as part of his budget for the 2027 fiscal year.\n\nThe infamous prison located on an island near San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge has long been regarded as America’s most famous prison, but it has only served as a tourist attraction in recent years.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe budget request is seeking the funds “to rebuild Alcatraz as a state-of-the-art secure prison facility,” with those funds covering the first year of operation for the prison.\n\nThe proposed plans have been met with concern by a number of politicians in California, who are concerned at the long-term cost of the project.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThey also hold concerns over the logistical challenges of running it as an active prison.\n\nThe prison was closed back in 1963 and is currently run as a tourist venue by the National Park Service.\n\nThe request will need to be approved by Congress before any plans come into action.\n\nFormer speaker for the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, has said the budget was \"absurd on its face and should be rejected outright\".\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\"Rebuilding Alcatraz into a modern prison is a stupid notion that would be nothing more than a waste of taxpayer dollars and an insult to the intelligence of the American people,\" she said.\n\nOthers have criticised the plan, mainly due to the fact there is no running water on the island, or ways to dispose of sewage, and that any supplies needed will have to be transported by boat.\n\nWhen the prison closed in 1963, it was three times more expensive to run than any other federal prison within the US, according to the Bureau of Prisons.\n\nMs Pelosi also spoke on other politicians concerned that if it were to be made into an active prison, San Fransico would lose an iconic landmark.\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:\n\n\n\n\n  * Met Office issues rare 'danger to life' amber alert as Storm Dave to bring hurricane-force winds\n  * Met Police makes new arrest in connection to Golders Green arson attack\n  * Pastor arrested while preaching returns to street for first time in 4 months\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nAccording to the National Park Service, the landmark brings in £45million in revenue as an attraction.\n\nThe opening of Alcatraz is part of a wider scheme Mr Trump is trying to implement that would see £1.3billion into the Bureau of Prisons.\n\nOn Truth Social last year, the President outlined the plans, in which he said: \"The Bureau of Prisons, together with the Department of Justice, FBI, and Homeland Security, to reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt ALCATRAZ.\"\n\nThe prison would \"house America's most ruthless and violent offenders\".\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nAlcatraz was initially a naval defence fort, before it was converted to a military prison and then a federal prison in the 1930’s.\n\nIt has housed some of the most dangerous men in history, such as Al Capone, Mickey Cohen, and George \"Machine Gun\" Kelly.\n\nSince its closure, it has been used as a filming location for a lot of movies, including 1962's Birdman of Alcatraz, starring Burt Lancaster, 1979's Escape from Alcatraz, starring Clint Eastwood, and 1996 film The Rock, starring Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n**\n**\n\n**\n**\n\n**Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "Donald Trump looking to reopen Alcatraz in major $152 MILLION prison bid"
}