Trump's 'Camp 47' Prison Scrapped at Last Minute!
The entrance to the Louisiana State Penitentiary, 2009. Photo courtesy of msppmoore under CC BY-SA 2.0.
When Louisiana briefly tried to name a notorious prison unit after President Donald Trump, the move quickly unraveled amid the facility's grim history. The Angola State Penitentiary's disciplinary unit, once known as Camp J, was reportedly set to reopen under the name Camp 47, a nod to Trump, the 47th US president. But the plan was scrapped just before the ribbon-cutting, and the unit was rebranded.
A Prison With a Haunting Past
Angola State Penitentiary is no ordinary prison. Reportedly built on the grounds of a former slave plantation, it has long been infamous for its brutal conditions and history of abuse. The disciplinary unit, Camp J, earned a reputation as one of the harshest places in the American penal system. It was shut down in 2018 after a series of alarming incidents, including multiple suicides, mass resignations of staff, and reports of malfunctioning locks that sometimes opened on their own.
In one particularly grim year, 85 officers assigned to Camp J either resigned, retired, or were fired, a staggering turnover that underscored the unit's dangerous and miserable environment, according to The Daily Beast. Two men reportedly took their own lives on the same day in April 2016, highlighting the mental health crisis within the walls. Advocates and watchdog groups described the unit as "more akin to a dungeon" than a correctional facility, a place where despair and violence were routine.
The Abortive Naming: Camp 47
When Louisiana officials began refurbishing the unit to house some of the most violent ICE detainees, the idea emerged to name it Camp 47 in honor of President Trump. Photos reportedly surfaced of the name already painted on the building, signaling a symbolic tribute to the 47th president. The move seemed to fit a broader pattern of politically charged naming conventions for detention centers, following examples like Florida's "Alligator Alcatraz" and Indiana's "Speedway Slammer," as reported by The Daily Beast.
However, the dark history of the unit quickly cast a shadow over the decision. The White House and Department of Homeland Security appeared to reconsider the optics of associating Trump's name with a place marked by suicides, staff turmoil, and allegations of abuse. The rebranding to Camp 57, named after Louisiana's 57th Governor Jeff Landry, was announced at the ribbon-cutting ceremony by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, signaling a clear retreat from the original plan.
Political Face-Saving and Grim Irony
The renaming of the prison unit can be seen as a political maneuver to avoid the negative fallout of linking Trump's name to such a notorious facility. The irony is hard to miss: a prison once dubbed "in honor" of the president was swiftly stripped of that distinction, as the brutal reality of the place made the association untenable.
Governor Landry, who now lends his number to the camp's new name, leaned into Angola's fearsome reputation during a tour of the facility. He described the sprawling 18,000-acre prison grounds as bordered by the Mississippi River, swamps filled with alligators, and forests inhabited by bears, warning that "nobody really wants to leave the place," as reported by The Daily Beast.
The Department of Homeland Security has reportedly branded the unit the "Louisiana Lockup," joining a series of alliterative detention centers designed to house some of the "worst of the worst" criminal migrants, according to The Daily Beast. On opening day, 51 detainees were already transferred into the unit, with plans to expand capacity to around 400 beds.
Repairs and Reopening Amid Controversy
Officials reportedly insist that the unit has undergone emergency repairs and upgrades, including refurbished cells and new air conditioning. They also say it has been walled off from the rest of Angola to prevent security issues. Attorney General Pam Bondi hailed the reopening as a "historic agreement" with the state of Louisiana, emphasizing the partnership between federal and state authorities, as reported by The Times of India.
Yet, the reopening has reignited concerns about the prison's legacy. The unit's past is a stark reminder of the challenges in managing such facilities humanely. The wave of staff resignations and the mental health crises that led to multiple suicides remain fresh in the public memory. Critics question whether the renovations and rebranding are enough to overcome the deep-rooted issues that plagued Camp J.
What the Name Change Means
The quick pivot from Camp 47 to Camp 57 reflects more than just a change in signage. For President Trump, the decision to distance himself from the prison's name may be a strategic move to avoid further controversy during his second term.
For Louisiana and federal officials, the renaming allows them to move forward with the detention expansion without the baggage of the past overshadowing the present. But the question remains whether the new Camp 57 can truly shed the dark reputation of its predecessor or if the ghosts of Angola's history will continue to haunt it.
A Lesson in Political Optics
This episode serves as a reminder of how political decisions intersect with public perception and historical realities. Naming a prison unit after a sitting president might seem like a straightforward honor, but when the facility carries a legacy of suffering and dysfunction, the optics become complicated.
The Angola prison saga shows that even in the world of hardline detention policies, image matters. The swift rebranding from Camp 47 to Camp 57 is a spectacle of political caution, a moment where the weight of history forced a retreat from a symbolic gesture that was simply too dark to endure.
References: Too dark for Trump? US president can't stomach his name on America's most notorious prison, once dubbed 'in his honor' | Trump Chickens Out After Horrific Prison Camp Is Named After Him | Angola Camp 57 to house violent ICE detainees
