From Al Capone to Machine Gun Kelly, 5 most infamous inmates of Alcatraz Prison reopened by Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump said he is planning to reopen the notorious Alcatraz prison to hold violent criminals. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said, “REBUILD, AND OPEN AND OPEN ALCATRAZ!”, calling “vicious, violent, and repeat Criminal Offenders as the dregs of society".

Located on a rocky island in San Francisco Bay, the prison is often referred to as "The Rock". Alcatraz Island was a fort since the mid-1800s and the main prison building on premises was built in 1910-12 to hold military prisoners.

The Department of Justice took over the Disciplinary Barracks, Pacific Branch, on Alcatraz on October 12, 1933, and a year later, the island was used as a federal prison. It continued operating until 1963, when it was shut down due to maintenance costs.

With Trump reopening the infamous prison, here is a look at some of the most notorious Alcatraz prisoners.

Al Capone

The most infamous inmate of Alcatraz was Al Capone, the Chicago mob boss who was nicknamed Scarface over the scars on his face. Though the federal authorities could not indict him in the St Valentine's Day Massacre, he was eventually pinned down for income tax evasion in 1931.

Initially held at prisons in Atlanta and elsewhere, Al Capone was caught bribing guards for home-cooked meals and comfortable bed. Later, he was moved to the Alcatraz.

'Machine Gun' Kelly

George Kelly was better known by his nickname, Machine Gun, because of his favourite weapon: the Thompson submachine gun. He took to crime as a bootlegger during the Prohibition era in Memphis, Tennessee. Though arrested for smuggling liquor, he was released early for being a model inmate. 

His wife, Kathryn Thorne, encouraged him to rob banks and bought him his first machine gun. It was Thorne who made all-out efforts to ensure Kelly is a familiar name in the criminal world. In 1933, he kidnapped wealthy oil tycoon, Charles F Urschel and his friend Walter R Jarrett. Soon Kelly and his wife Kathryn were convicted and sentenced for life. Kelly spent the remaining 21 years of his life in prison and of these, 17 years were spent on Alcatraz. In 1951, he was sent to Leavenworth where he died of heart attack three years later.

Robert Stroud

Robert Stroud, known as the Birdman of Alcatraz, was a convicted murderer. However, reports suggest that he actually reared birds in the Leavenworth prison and not in Alcatraz because of strict regulations at the island prison. He was imprisoned from 1909 till his death in 1963. 

Initially, he was sentenced to 12 years for shooting dead a bartender. He was put behind bars at the federal prison on McNeil Island in Puget Sound. In 1916, he stabbed a prison guard to death, following which he was sentenced to death by hanging. Later, it was commuted to life imprisonment in solitary confinement. He was transferred to Alcatraz in 1942 after he was found making alcohol using some equipment in his cell. In 1959, Stroud was moved to the Medical Centre for Federal Prisoners in Missouri.

Alvin Karpis

Nicknamed Creepy Karpis, Alvin Karpis is the prisoner who spent the longest time on Alcatraz, ie 26 years. He was convicted in 10 murders, six kidnappings and one robbery.

As a teenager, Karpis spent a decade in jail for burglary in 1926. He escaped prison but was caught and transferred to Kansas State Penitentiary. It was here that he first met Fred Barker. After his release in 1931, Karpis joined Fred and Arthur "Doc" Barker to form the infamous Barker-Karpis Gang.

FBI nabbed Doc in January 1935 while Fred and his mother Ma Barker were killed in a shootout the following week. Karpis was caught more than a year later in May 1936.

Roy G Gardner

Roy G Gardner was known as the Mail Train Bandit and often referred to as the King of the Escape Artists. He was infamous for his escape attempts and has stolen more than $350,000 in cash. Gardner was arrested for gunrunning during the Mexican Revolution and sentenced to death by firing squad. He broke out of the Mexico City jail in 1909 with three other Americans.

After robbing a US Mail truck of $80,000 worth of goods on April 16, 1920, he was arrested again, this times within three days. However, on June 5, 1920, he escaped from a train by grabbing a lawman's gun and disarming another. He then handcuffed them and jumped off the train before escaping to Canada.

He later returned to the US and committed several crimes in Arizona. But was again captured during a train robbery in 1921 and sent to Leavenworth prison with additional 25 years. In 1925, he was moved to Atlanta Federal Prison but the next year he tried to tunnel under a wall. In  1927, he again tried break prison but in vain. 

Gardner was moved to Alcatraz in 1934, when Al Capone was also imprisoned on the island. He was later paroled and released in 1938 after his clemency appeal got approved.

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