FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed Sunday that the Secret Service discovered a hunting stand with a view of President Donald Trump as he disembarked from Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in Florida.
“USSS spotted a suspicious stand near Area AF1 in Palm Beach,” Patel wrote in a statement. job on X, which included a screenshot of a Fox News article. “The FBI is investigating.”
In a statement to Fox News, Patel explained that the Secret Service “discovered what appeared to be an elevated hunting stand” that offered a view of the outgoing president from Air Force One. Patel added that “no person was located at the scene.”
“Prior to the President’s return to West Palm Beach, the USSS discovered what appeared to be an elevated hunting stand near the Air Force One landing zone,” Patel said in his statement, adding that the Federal Bureau of Investigation “has since taken the lead in the investigation” regarding the hunting stand.
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told the outlet that the Secret Service’s discovery of the hunting stand came as it was conducting “advanced security preparations” ahead of Trump’s arrival in Palm Beach.
“While we are unable to provide details on the specific elements or their intent, this incident highlights the importance of our multi-layered security measures,” Guglielmi told the outlet.
The Secret Service’s discovery of the hunting stand overlooking Trump comes as the president has already faced two assassination attempts.
At Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024, shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire from the roof of a nearby building with a direct line of sight. Trump later revealed that he had been shot “through” his upper right ear.
A few months later, on September 15, 2024, Ryan Wesley Routh – who was convicted last month of attempting to assassinate Trump – was apprehended after a Secret Service agent saw the barrel of Routh’s AK-style rifle “sticking out of the bushes” where he was hiding near the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach.
