(Ken Silva, Headline USA) In the wake of the July 13 assassination attempt against Donald Trump, the Secret Service admitted that it denied the former President’s requests for enhanced security over the last several years.
The Washington Post provided more details on those cuts Monday, reporting that the Secret Service provided just 10% of what Trump sought to secure Mar-a-Lago, where multiple breaches have occurred.
“Trump’s Secret Service detail put together an ‘Intrusion Detection Plan’ they believed would make the club a safer place for Trump. But when they asked for the funds—several million dollars, according to people with knowledge of the request—they were mostly denied by the Secret Service. They received about 10 percent of what they requested,” the Post reported.
The Secret Service has reportedly spent about $4 million on protecting Mar-a-Lago in the years since Trump left office. That spending rate will presumably skyrocket in the wake of the assassination attempt. In fact, now that he’s no longer a candidate for 2024, the Secret Service is reportedly diverting security from President Joe Biden to both Trump and Kamala Harris.
Mar-a-Lago has had several notable security breaches over the last several years, including one that happened after the assassination attempt.
in March 2019, for instance, an apparent Chinese national almost gained access to Trump. That time, the security failure was made by Mar-a-Lago staff.
According to Secret Service records, Mar-a-Lago staff thought the woman was a relative of one of the club’s members, and that she was attending a conference. Once they realized their error, they notified Secret Service, which detained the woman.
In another Mar-a-Lago breach in 2018, it was the Secret Service at fault. In that case, an 18-year-old college student arrived at Mar-a-Lago while Trump was visiting.
According to Secret Service records, the teenager was screened at a checkpoint by Secret Service and allowed through. During his brief visit, he entered a secure area and uploaded videos of his escapades to Snapchat—including one titled, “Sneaking into Trump club is like taking candy from a baby.”
The most recent breach occurred late last month, when a mentally unstable man drove near a Mar-a-Lago checkpoint on July 22, July 30 and again on July 31.
On the last trip, the man allegedly “passed all USSS checkpoints and barricades, and attempted to enter through the south gate at Mar-a-Lago before being stopped by Mar-a-Lago security,” according to law enforcement.
After private security stopped the man, law enforcement issued a “BOLO”—be on the lookout—and arrested him later that day.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
