The U.S. Secret Service has approved a plan that will allow former President Donald Trump to resume holding rallies outdoors, according to The Washington Post.
Trump reportedly agreed to stop holding rallies outside following an initial request from the Secret Service last month, shortly after the ex-president’s ear was grazed by a bullet in an assassination attempt at an outdoor campaign event, leaving one supporter dead and two others seriously injured in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13.
On Thursday, The Washington Post reported that new security measures including surrounding Trump with bulletproof glass will allow the outdoor rallies to continue, citing an unnamed Secret Service official. Similar measures are sometimes used to protect sitting presidents and vice presidents but usually not presidential candidates.
“Former presidents and candidates don’t normally get bulletproof glass or support from DoD [Department of Defense],” the unnamed official told the paper. “This glass needs to be brought in on trucks and vans.”
Additional security measures usually reserved for sitting presidents or vice presidents will also reportedly be used at the new events. Drones, which the Security Service was heavily criticized for failing to implement on the day of the assassination attempt, may also be used.
It was not clear when outdoor Trump campaign events might resume. Trump aides reportedly said that the former president requested to resume the events but refused to participate in any without the use of bulletproof glass. However, indoor events may still be favored “out of an abundance of caution.”
Newsweek reached out for comment to Trump’s office and the Secret Service via email on Thursday evening.
Days after the Trump campaign reportedly agreed to stop holding outside rallies, the former president himself insisted that the events would continue in an all-caps post to Truth Social.
“I WILL CONTINUE TO DO OUTDOOR RALLIES, AND SECRET SERVICE HAS AGREED TO SUBSTANTIALLY STEP UP THEIR OPERATION,” Trump wrote on July 27. “THEY ARE VERY CAPABLE OF DOING SO. NO ONE CAN EVER BE ALLOWED TO STOP OR IMPEDE FREE SPEECH OR GATHERING!!!”
The security failures that preceded the assassination attempt led to congressional hearings and an outpouring of condemnation for the Secret Service, eventually resulting in the resignation of the agency’s then-Director Kimberly Cheatle 10 days after the shooting.
Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr. said earlier this month that the agency takes ” full responsibility” for the failures that allowed shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks to climb onto the roof of a nearby building and fire a rifle at the stage while Trump was delivering a campaign speech.
“This was a Secret Service failure,” Rowe said during a press conference. “There should have been better security to prevent anyone from getting up on that roof. We should have had better coverage on that roofline… Personnel were not aware that the assailant had a firearm until they heard gunshots.”
Update 08/15/24 6:07 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
