FBI Director Kash Patel and the Secret Service confirmed that a hunting stand with a line of sight to an Air Force One exit area was found near the Palm Beach Airport before President Donald Trump was set to arrive.
“USSS spotted a suspicious stand near the AF1 zone in Palm Beach. The FBI is investigating,” Patel wrote on X, also linking to his interview with Fox News.
“Prior to the President’s return to West Palm Beach, USSS discovered what appeared to be an elevated hunting stand within sight line of the Air Force One landing zone,” Patel told the outlet. “No individuals were located at the scene. The FBI has since taken the investigatory lead, flying in resources to collect all evidence from the scene, and deploying our cell phone analytics capabilities.”
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi confirmed to the news outlet that the agency is “working closely” with the FBI and local law enforcement.
“There was no impact to any movements and no individuals were present or involved at the location,” Guglielmi told Fox News, adding that Secret Service agents found the stand before the president was due to arrive in Palm Beach.
The agency also provided a photo of what appears to be the stand in a tree.
“While we are not able to provide details about the specific items or their intent, this incident underscores the importance of our layered security measures,” Guglielmi added.
Two months before the incident, a man identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks was shot and killed by a Secret Service counter-sniper team after he managed to fire several shots at Trump during a rally in Pennsylvania where Trump was speaking. Trump’s right ear was hit in the shooting, two others in the crowd were injured, and one man, retired firefighter Corey Comperatore, was killed while shielding his family from the bullets.
In September, prominent conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was shot and killed while speaking at a college debate event in Utah. The suspect charged in that case, Tyler Robinson, is currently being held in a Utah jail without bail. His next court date is later this month.
After Kirk’s assassination, Trump and Vice President JD Vance said that individuals who espouse far-left ideological viewpoints are fueling political violence.
“Radical left political violence has hurt too many innocent people and taken too many lives,” Trump said last month. “Tonight, I ask all Americans to commit themselves to the American values for which Charlie Kirk lived and died.”
Prosecutors and officials in Utah have said that Robinson’s family said the suspect’s political views had moved to the left in recent years.
The Epoch Times has contacted the FBI and the Secret Service for comment.
