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‘These are human beings you’re laughing about’: MAGA loyalist blasted for gleefully flaunting ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ hat
The Florida Republican Party is selling hats and T-shirts of the Florida migrant detention facility known as “Alligator Alcatraz”.
The new immigration detention center in South Florida called “Alligator Alcatraz” has sparked controversy and protests since its opening. Located at an isolated airstrip, it can house “3,000 people in dormitories corralled by chain-link fences”. Though protestors have labelled it as an “inhumane makeshift prison camp”, many supporters are hailing it as a “cost-effective” detention space. Amid the controversy, a MAGA loyalist, Benny Johnson, attracted the wrath of social media after he shared a video showing off his new “Alligator Alcatraz” hat.
“Hi guys. I have just been handed official Alligator Alcatraz merch. I repeat, this prison has merch. Things are going insanely well,” he wrote on X and posted the video.
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In the video, Johnson shows off his hat with the word "Alcatraz" written on it, just below a picture of an alligator. Throughout the video, he talks about the merchandise with a smile on his face. People have slammed him for being insensitive while talking about a space that is constructed to detain people.
Take a look at the video:
What did social media say?
Slamming Johnson, an individual posted, “These are human beings you’re laughing about.” Another added, “Imagine nazi merch back in the 1930s with ‘Alligator Auschwitz’ plastered on them as the camps were being built. That’s where we’re at right now.”
A third joined, “Benny, that place will be housing Americans in the not so distant future. Won’t be so cool then.”
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A fourth wrote, “While I agree with a lot of what’s going on. The boasting of us building prisons, jails, and taunting people being deported sets us a class below the rest of the world. It’s incredulous to see a world where we are making a mockery of such things.”
A few, however, showed support for Johnson, adding that they love his new hat.
Why the nickname "Alligator Alcatraz”?
The detention center dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” by officials is “surrounded by swamps filled with mosquitoes, pythons and alligators.” Talking about the detention center, US President Donald Trump said, “We’re surrounded by miles of treacherous swampland and the only way out is, really, deportation,” Trump said, adding, “This is an amazing thing that they’ve done here.”
“This is what you need. A lot of bodyguards and a lot of cops in the form of alligators.” the president added.
“This 30-square-mile [78sq-km] area is completely surrounded by the Everglades. It presents an efficient, low-cost opportunity to build a temporary detention facility because you don’t need to invest that much in the perimeter,” said State Attorney General James Uthmeier.
“If people get out, there’s not much waiting for them other than alligators and pythons. Nowhere to go. Nowhere to hide," Uthmeier continued.
