The Secret Service has reportedly advised the Trump campaign to stop holding rallies and events outdoors, almost two weeks after an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
Three people close to the matter, who spoke to the Washington Post “on the condition of anonymity,” said the Secret Service had spoken to campaign advisers about not holding events outdoors with large crowds.
This comes after Trump was shot by “a bullet that pierced the upper part” of his right ear during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13 when 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire from the roof of a nearby building.
Republican presidential candidate and former president, Donald Trump, speaks during the final day of the Republican National Convention Thursday, July 18, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
The sources added that the Trump campaign is not currently looking to hold outdoor events and is eyeing indoor venues, “such as basketball arenas and other large spaces” that can seat thousands of attendees.
A campaign official who spoke to the outlet anonymously explained that holding events indoors is safer because you are able “to control who comes through a finite number of doors,” but pointed out that indoor events have capacity limits:
Indoor rallies are more expensive, campaign advisers said. But one campaign official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private plans said the indoor events are inherently safer because it is easier to control who comes through a finite number of doors, and there are fewer line-of-sight issues.
“Obviously with an indoor venue, you have a capacity,” the campaign official added. “It doesn’t pack the same punch. There’s something about being at one of those outdoor rallies.”
Since the assassination attempt on Trump, the U.S. Secret Service has received increased criticism surrounding the security failings that occurred during the Trump rally.
On May 10, 2024, Director of the United States Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle, speaks during the Secret Service Wall of Honor Ceremony in Laurel, Maryland. (DHS photo by Tia Dufour)
On Monday, the now-former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle appeared before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee for a hearing. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle questioned Cheatle intensely, with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) questioning why the Secret Service had a security perimeter smaller than the range of an AR-15.
Cheatle was also questioned by Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL) regarding the number of times the Secret Service had been “alerted about a suspicious person” at the rally and asking why the event had not been paused.
Prior to the hearing, Cheatle stated that agents had not been placed on Crooks’ roof because of the “safety factor” associated with putting someone on a “sloped roof.”
Cheatle resigned from her position as director of the agency on Tuesday.