Wannial Catraz is more than just a moniker designed to sell political goods. In fact, it is the official name of the state-run immigration detention facility that was built by Gov. Ron DeSantis’s administration to detain more people in the immigration sweep of President Donald Trump.
“Yes, that’s the official name,” Jeremy Redfern, spokesman for Florida Attorney General James Usmiere, said in an email to the Times/Herald.
The name is already inspirational to sell shirts, hats and coozy in what appears to be an AI-generated image of a prison alongside the Gators and Python. Desantis appointee Uthmeier also sells “Alligator Alcatraz” gear, which includes bumper stickers, golf balls and coffee mugs, to raise political cash for the 2026 election.
Now, branding appears to be appearing in official state government documents as well.
The speed at which the facility was built created confusion as to whether “Alligator Alcatraz” was an official name or branding effort.
Conservative social media personalities like Benny Johnson have even shopped for name replacements. On Tuesday morning, Johnson asked his 3.7 million followers on X if he prefers “Wannial Catraz” or “Gator Gitomo” by name.
However, according to Uthmeier’s office, Alcatraz will become the name. And Florida has already handed out “official Wannial Catraz products” to conservative influencers, including caps containing alligator caricatures, according to a video posted by Johnson on X.
