President Trump posted Sunday on his Truth Social platform that he’s ordered various government agencies to reopen Alcatraz to serve as a symbol of law, order and justice.
“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,” he wrote.
As he is a 34-count felon himself, it’s strange that the president does not seem to believe in rehabilitation or second chances. And it’s easy, as many quickly did, to write off this push to spruce up and fill up America’s most notorious prison-turned-national park as just bloviating or distraction. But like the sharks that circle that island in the Bay, the real danger of the idea lurks beneath the surface.
Trump in recent weeks has moved to undo years of criminal justice reform. He is making changes that increase police power, signaling a push to refill federal prisons and detention centers with Black and brown people and curbing the ability of those impacted to seek redress in courts.
None of that is about justice or safety — most violent crime rates are actually declining, despite what the president would like us to believe. It’s about empowering authorities to act without fear of consequence, and undoing the changes in culture and law set in motion by the killing of George Floyd.
The real-time results of those moves can already be seen in Los Angeles.
My colleagues Brittny Mejia , James Queally and Keri Blakinger reported last week that the office of Trump’s newly appointed U.S. attorney for Los Angeles, Bill Essayli, made the extraordinary move of offering a plea deal to a sheriff’s deputy — who had already been found guilty by a jury of using excessive force.
Yes, he is asking a judge to throw out a jury’s decision.
The idea that the new U.S. attorney would basically tell a jury to stuff it isn’t just arrogant. It’s alarming. It sends the message that if the people want to hold local authorities accountable for brutality, the federal authorities will simply override them.
This is what Trump promised law enforcement during his campaign, and he is delivering. Do you remember in 2017 when, to cheers, he requested officers “don’t be too nice” when making arrests?
The case in question feels spot-on for Trump’s plea.
The incident that landed former Deputy Trevor Kirk in court stemmed from an arrest at a Lancaster grocery store in June 2023. Responding to a possible robbery call, Kirk grabbed a Black woman who matched the description of a suspect, threw her face-first to the ground while she filmed him and pepper-sprayed her. The woman was later treated for blunt force trauma to her head, and was never charged with a crime.
The case was investigated by the FBI, and in April, Kirk was convicted of one felony count of deprivation of rights under color of law.
The judge has yet to sentence him, but Kirk could face up to 10 years in prison. Unless the judge accepts the dubious plea deal, in which case Kirk would plead guilty to a misdemeanor, which could result in probation rather than time behind bars. It would also mean Kirk would not be prevented from working in law enforcement again.
An organization that that represents some sheriff’s deputies and which contacted Trump about the case, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Professional Assn., has long contended that the prosecution was “politically charged” and Kirk did nothing beyond the bounds of training or law. Many of his former fellow officers agree.
But prosecutors saw it differently, arguing in a three-day trial that the deputy had gone too far. The jury agreed.
Occasionally, and I do mean rarely, a prosecutor may move to undo a conviction if new evidence pops up post-trial. But that does not appear to be the case here, as The Times noted. This really looks like a Trump-appointed prosecutor trying to undo the will of the people.
Like any other defendant, Kirk has the right to appeal his conviction. By his stepping in now, it’s hard to see Essayli’s actions as anything other than political. Three attorneys resigned from his office in the wake of his unusual request.
To drive home the point, also last week, Trump signed an executive order on policing that promised to “unleash” U.S. law enforcement to “firmly police” criminal activity.
“When local leaders demonize law enforcement and impose legal and political handcuffs that make aggressively enforcing the law impossible, crime thrives and innocent citizens and small business owners suffer,” Trump wrote.
That same executive order promised to provide new legal protections for law enforcement and even help cover costs if an officer is sued.
So when we talk about Alcatraz, don’t write it off as a joke or another empty decree. Alcatraz closed in 1963, one year before the Civil Rights Act passed.
Reopening it is nostalgia for an America where power ran roughshod over true justice, and police were an authority not to be questioned — or restrained.