President Trump published Sunday on his social platform of Truth that ordered several government agencies to reopen Alcatraz to serve as a symbol of law, order and justice.
“For too long, the United States has been plagued by vicious, violent and repeated criminal criminals, the feces of society, which will never contribute to other misery and suffering,” he wrote.
As he is a 34 -position criminal, it is strange that the president does not seem to believe in rehabilitation or second opportunities. And it is easy, as many did it quickly, cancel this thrust to fix and fill the most notorious park in the United States prison turned into a national park like simply bleaching or distraction. But like the sharks that circulate that island in the bay, the real danger of the idea stalks under the surface.
Trump in recent weeks has moved to undo years of criminal justice reform. It is making changes that increase police power, pointing out an impulse to fill in federal prisons and detention centers with black and brown people and stop the ability of those affected to seek repair in the courts.
None of that is justice or security: most violent crime rates are decreasing, despite what the president would like us to create. It is about empowering the authorities to act without fear of the consequences, and undo the changes in culture and the law in motion for the murder of George Floyd.
The real -time results of these movements can already be seen in Los Angeles.
My colleagues Brittny Mejia, James Queally and Keri Blakinger reported last week that the newly appointed Trump office Prosecutor of the United States for Los Angeles, Bill essayli made the extraordinary movement of offering a guilt agreement to the deputy of a Sheriff, who had already been convicted by a jury of using excessive force.
Yes, he is asking a judge to throw the decision of a jury.
The idea that the new American prosecutor would basically tell a jury that is not just arrogant. It is alarming. Send the message that if people want to hold local authorities responsible for brutality, federal authorities will simply annul them.
This is what Trump promised the police during his campaign, and he is delivering. Do you remember in 2017 when, for cheers, asked officers to “not be too friendly” when making arrests?
The case in question feels perfect for Trump's plea.
The incident that led the former deputy Trevor Kirk in the Court emerged from an arrest in a Lancaster groceries in June 2023. Responding to a possible robbery call, Kirk grabbed a black woman who matched the description of a suspect, threw her face to the ground while filming him and peppers. Later, the woman was treated by a blunt force on the head, and was never accused of a crime.
The case was investigated by the FBI, and in April, Kirk was convicted of a serious crime of deprivation of rights under the color of the law.
The judge still does not have to sentence it, but Kirk could face up to 10 years in prison. Unless the judge accepts the dubious guilt agreement, in which case Kirk would declare himself guilty of a minor crime, which could be on probation instead of time after bars. It would also mean that Kirk will not be prevented from working on the law.
An organization that represents some deputies of the Sheriff and that contacted Trump about the case, the professional association of the Sheriff of Los Angeles, has long sustained that the Prosecutor's Office was “politically accused” and Kirk did nothing beyond the limits of the training or law. Many of his former 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 want to say rarely, a prosecutor can move to undo a sentence if new evidence appears after trial. But that does not seem to be the case here, as the Times pointed out. This really seems like a prosecutor appointed by Trump who tries to undo the will of the people.
Like any other defendant, Kirk has the right to appeal his conviction. Upon entering now, it is difficult to see Essayli's actions as more than politician. Three lawyers renounced their office following their unusual application.
To take home the point, also last week, Trump signed an executive order on surveillance that promised to “unleash” the United States police to “firmly monitor” criminal activity.
“When local leaders demonize the application of the law and impose legal and political wives that make it impossible to aggressively enforce the law, the crime prosperous and innocent citizens and the owners of small businesses suffer,” Trump wrote.
That same executive order promised to provide new legal protections for the application of the law and even help cover costs if an officer is sued.
So, when we talk about Alcatraz, do not discard it as a joke or other empty decree. Alcatraz closed in 1963, a year before the Civil Rights Law was approved.
Reopening is nostalgia for an America where power ran true justice, and the police was an authority not to be questioned, or restricted.
