Rumors Are Circulating Online About Incinerators Being Installed at "Alligator Alcatraz"

There is so much going on in America that we nearly forgot about Florida, but Florida didn't forget about us. It has long been the butt of many jokes, based mostly on the fact that their Sunshine Law allows access to criminal proceedings. This is how the Florida Man trope was born. And while there is certainly much to criticize about Florida, it was hard to imagine things could get worse than the Don't Say Gay bill, which passed in March 2022.

It seems Governor Ron DeSantis saw that as a challenge, because he joyfully welcomed a new detention center for immigrants into his state. Located deep in the Everglades and less than 50 miles from Trump International Beach Resort in Miami, the facility has been nicknamed "Alligator Alcatraz". As if any of this isn't bad enough, rumors are circulating online about large incinerators being put into the complex. Is this real? Here's what we know.

A TikTok posted by the @travyn account claims that "Alligator Alcatraz" is getting more than beds and bars. Text over the video alleges that her neighbor's cousin was offered a contracting job to install a "ton" of incinerators at "Alligator Alcatraz." Apparently, Travyn made a longer video about this, but it was taken down. "After listening to Karoline Leavitt talk about it today, I can't consider it alleged anymore," wrote Travyn.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described the facility during a press conference on June 30. President Trump was traveling to Florida the next day in order to tour "Alligator Alcatraz." Unable to contain her excitement, Karoline said her boss was going to the "great state of Florida to tour a new illegal alien detention center located at Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport."

She went on to say that the detention center is isolated, with only one road in and out. "It is surrounded by dangerous wildlife and unforgiving terrain." It will have no more than 5,000 beds and will be used to "house, process, and deport criminal, illegal animals." Leavitt did not mention incinerators, but did say this would be an efficient, low-cost way to "help carry out the largest mass deportation campaign in American history."

It only took eight days to build "Alligator Alcatraz," but Mother Nature had other ideas. Within one day of opening, torrential downpours flooded the facility, per the Miami Herald. The day before this happened, Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, bragged about the complex's ability to withstand the kinds of winds that accompany a Category 2 hurricane. It seems he forgot to waterproof the facility, as electrical cables on the floor were soaked.

Although the rain lasted no more than 45 minutes, that was long enough to shake the roof as water leaked through its sides. "Overnight, the vendors went back and tightened any seams at the base of the structures that allowed water intrusion during the heavy storm, which was minimal,” said Stephanie Hartman, the deputy director of communications for the division of emergency management said in a statement. According to CNN, this will cost taxpayers $450 million per year.