FBI Director Kash Patel announced on Sunday that the Secret Service had uncovered a hunting stand positioned to oversee President Donald Trump’s arrival at Palm Beach International Airport in Florida.
“USSS spotted a suspicious stand near the AF1 zone in Palm Beach,” Patel wrote in a post on X, which included a screenshot of a Fox News article. “The FBI is investigating.”
In a statement to Fox News, Patel detailed that the Secret Service had found “what appeared to be an elevated hunting stand” with a vantage point of the President as he disembarked from Air Force One. Patel further mentioned that “no individuals were present at the location.”
“Before the President returned to West Palm Beach, the USSS identified what seemed to be a hunting stand within the sightline of Air Force One’s landing area,” Patel stated, noting that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has since assumed the lead in the investigation regarding the stand.
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi elaborated to the news outlet that the discovery occurred during “advance security preparations” for Trump’s visit to Palm Beach.
“Although we cannot divulge details about the specific items or their purpose, this incident highlights the significance of our comprehensive security measures,” Guglielmi commented.
This discovery by the Secret Service comes against the backdrop of previous assassination attempts on President Trump, emphasizing ongoing security concerns.
The Secret Service’s discovery of the hunting stand with a view of Trump comes as the President has previously faced two assassination attempts.
During Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024, shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire from the rooftop of a nearby building with a direct line of sight. Trump later revealed that he had been “shot with a bullet that pierced” his upper right ear.
Months later, on September 15, 2024, Ryan Wesley Routh — who was found guilty 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 had been hiding near Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach.
