- Secret Service agents discovered and dismantled a hunting stand overlooking where President Trump’s plane lands at Palm Beach International Airport.
- The FBI has taken over the investigation, using forensic and digital tools to identify who set up the stand.
- Security around Mar-a-Lago has been heightened following the discovery, amid ongoing concerns after two prior assassination attempts on Trump.
Secret Service agents discovered a hunting stand with direct line of sight to where President Donald Trump exits Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport, the day before he landed in Florida on Friday, the Secret Service said.
Trump was in Florida over the weekend, golfing at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
Recent construction caused Air Force One to be parked in this area, officials said, per NBC News.
Agents took the hunting stand down immediately and sent it to an FBI lab to track who set it up. It has not been connected with an individual yet, FBI Director Kash Patel told Fox News.
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino told Fox News, “We had our plane flown down there. This hunting stand was appropriately dismantled, being flown to our lab. It’s there right now. And all of the forensic tools we have, from digital tools to biometric tools, they are all going to be applied to try to find out who put this up there and why.”
“The FBI has since taken the investigatory lead, flying in resources to collect all evidence from the scene, and deploying our cell phone analytics capabilities,” Patel added.
Following the hunting stand’s discovery, Secret Service at Mar-a-Lago “increased protection of the high-profile facility,” the agency posted on X on Thursday.
Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said, “The U.S. Secret Service is working closely with the FBI and our law enforcement partners in Palm Beach County. During advance security preparations prior to the Palm Beach arrival, which included the use of technology and comprehensive physical sweeps, our teams identified items of interest near Palm Beach International Airport,” per NBC.
Previous assassination attempts against Trump
Trump faced two assassination attempts last year.
In Butler, Pennsylvania, at a campaign rally, 20-year-old Thomas Crooks opened fire at Trump from a roof, hitting his ear and killing 50-year-old Corey Comperatore.
Just two months later in September, Ryan Routh, 59, was arrested after a Secret Service agent found him hidden in bushes with a loaded SKS-style rifle on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago golf course, while the president golfed.
Routh was found guilty and will be sentenced in December.