Trump assassination attempt: Secret Service makes big change to former president’s outdoor rally security
Fox News
Former President Trump will have bulletproof glass surrounding his podium for outdoor events going forward, a federal law enforcement source briefed on the planning told Fox News.
Indoor events, meanwhile, will not involve the same level of protection, the source confirmed.
The additional level of protection comes after an assassination attempt on the former president during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania last month.
The president was addressing the open-air crowd, just minutes into his speech, when a gunman fired at him from the rooftop of a nearby building.
Trump managed to just barely turn his head and duck beneath the podium. A Secret Service member killed the gunman just seconds after he opened fire.
Trump was struck in the ear but avoided serious injury. One spectator in the audience was killed and two others were injured.
The security failure has brought heavy scrutiny on the Secret Service, which had been responsible for coordinating with local law enforcement.
The fury over the security lapse mounted after it was revealed that law enforcement had identified the gunman – later identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks – as suspicious an hour before the rally began, but lost track of him.
Crooks was able to scale the roof of a building owned by AGR International Inc., a supplier of automation equipment for the glass and plastic packaging industry, and fire an estimated eight shots with an AR-15-style rifle.
Crooks was able to scale the roof of a building owned by AGR International Inc., a supplier of automation equipment for the glass and plastic packaging industry, and fire an estimated eight shots with an AR-15 style rifle.