The Secret Service has approved a new plan to bolster security for former President Donald Trump during outdoor rallies to stave off any potential repeats of his near-assassination at a Butler, Pa. rally last month, according to reports.
Privately, the protective agency had requested Trump, 78, briefly hold off on outdoor rallies while it evaluated its security protocols in the wake of the assassination attempt against him last month. The GOP presidential candidate held his first outdoor rally since the shooting last week in Montana.
As part of the plan, the Secret Service will encircle Trump with bulletproof glass to protect him against potential gunmen, ABC News and the Washington Post reported.
Typically, that level of protection is reserved for sitting presidents and vice presidents when safety concerns necessitate it. The Department of Defense usually coordinates it, per the report.
“Former presidents and candidates don’t normally get bulletproof glass or support from DoD,” an official explained to the Washington Post. “This glass needs to be brought in on trucks and vans.”
Under the new plan, the Secret Service has reportedly been establishing stashes of bulletproof glass across the country to make it more accessible for Trump campaign events.
Other advanced technical security measures are also expected to be part of the new plan, though the official declined to disclose specifics.
The Post reached out to the Secret Service for comment. The Trump campaign does not publicly comment on security protocols.
Suspect Matthew Thomas Crooks, 20, crawled across a shed during the July 13 Butler, Pa. rally about 130 yards away from the president and fired off multiple shots.
Ultimately one bullet grazed Trump’s right ear, drawing blood. Firefighter Corey Comperatore, 50, was killed and two others — David Dutch, 57, as well as James Copenhaver, 74 — were severely injured.
Everything we know about the Trump assassination attempt
- 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks was identified as the shooter who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
- Crooks was shot dead by Secret Service agents.
- The gunman grazed Trump’s ear, killed a 50-year-old retired fire chief, and injured two other rally-goers.
- Investigators detailed Crooks’ search history to lawmakers, revealing that he looked for the dates of Trump’s appearances and the Democratic National Convention.
- Crooks’ search history also revealed a broad interest in high-profile people and celebrities, regardless of their political affiliation, FBI officials reportedly said.
- Trump exclusively recounted surviving the “surreal” assassination attempt with The Post at the rally, remarking, “I’m supposed to be dead.”
- High-profile politicians, including President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, addressed the nation about the shooting, calling it “a heinous, horrible and cowardly act.”
The attack marked the first time a would-be assassin drew blood from a sitting or former US president since the 1981 attempt against then-President Ronald Reagan by John Hinckley Jr.
Trump, who famously stood up and pumped his fist into the air with blood dripping down his face, has teased that he plans to return to Butler, Pa. for a rally in October.
Meanwhile, the Secret Service has been mired in a firestorm and a reckoning over the security failures of that day.
Former Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle, who reportedly met with the campaign afterward and pushed for a new security plan, resigned last month amid mounting pressure to do so.
Her resignation came the day after her testimony before Congress, which drew bipartisan calls for her to step aside.
There are now multiple probes underway into what transpired on July 13, including from a newly minted bipartisan task force tasked with investigating the ordeal, the FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General, among others.
