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After President Donald Trump announced Sunday evening that he wants to rebuild and reopen the notorious Alcatraz prison to incarcerate some of the most violent and dangerous criminals, a former FBI agent has suggested an even better idea.
The historic Alcatraz prison is located on a 22-acre just a little over 1 mile offshore from San Francisco, California.
However, former FBI special agent Jonathan Gilliam said in a video interview with Fox News Digital, “When I was in SEAL training, we deployed to San Clemente Island, which is about 90 miles off the coast of San Diego. There’s nothing out there, but a training base, a few government offices, and a runway, and that’s it.”
“If you want to build a prison, forget about Alcatraz,” he said, suggesting that San Clemente Island would be a much better option.
“It’s a perfect location, it’s close enough. You could build a prison out there for the same or less amount of money. Just the isolation of it would send shock factors through the minds of a lot of these people… you would not want to go there, because there’s nothing there,” he continued.
Gilliam said, in SEAL training, the unwritten rule about that base is that “nobody can hear you scream out there.”
WATCH BELOW:
X user @KevinLedgister weighed in, writing, “I agree with the former FBI agent, Jonathan Gilliam, that suggested that we should build Alcatraz 2.0 on San Clemente Island – escape is completely impossible without a boat or aircraft. It’s 80 miles to the nearest coast.
“It’s also owned and operated by the US Navy so it makes it immune from many state laws. And as a Navy Seals training operation, you have additional security. As a 21 mile long island, there is lots of room for expansion to build a modern, high security facility that would scare hardened criminals.”
I agree with the former FBI agent, Jonathan Gilliam, that suggested that we should build Alcatraz 2.0 on San Clemente Island – escape is completely impossible without a boat or aircraft. It’s 80 miles to the nearest coast.
It’s also owned and operated by the US Navy so it makes…
— MacJediKev ✝️ 🇺🇸🇨🇦🇯🇲 (@KevinLedgister) May 7, 2025
Alcatraz 2.0: Fmr. FBI agent floats ‘perfect’ new prison site that would scare even most hardened criminals
Former FBI agent suggests San Clemente Island as alternative to Alcatraz for housing violent criminals pic.twitter.com/COC5CKbzhx
— Hodgepodgery 🙃/s (@TaylorChar83070) May 7, 2025
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