Trump calls for reopening of Alcatraz prison

People tour the main cell house on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco. File picture: AP

US president Donald Trump says he is directing his government to reopen and expand Alcatraz, the notorious former prison on a California island.

In a message on his Truth Social site on Sunday evening, Mr Trump wrote: “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.