In a recent development that has raised significant security concerns, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino revealed that FBI Director Kash Patel ordered an "immediate response" following the discovery of a hunting stand near Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport.
The stand, which had a direct line of sight to the presidential aircraft, was found on Sunday prior to President Donald Trump's departure for Washington, D.C., after spending the weekend at Mar-a-Lago. Bongino shared these details during an appearance on "Fox and Friends," where he discussed the heightened security measures implemented in response to recent assassination attempts.
According to the Daily Caller, the Secret Service has been compelled to enhance its security protocols due to the repeated use or attempted use of such tools. "The Secret Service has had to make a lot of modifications, Lawrence, given that this tool was obviously used or attempted to use multiple times," Bongino explained, addressing concerns about potential sniper threats.
"Theyve expanded their security perimeter." This comes in the wake of the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot by a gunman during an event at Utah Valley University. President Trump himself narrowly escaped a similar attack during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024.
Bongino, who maintains close ties with the FBI director, noted that the discovery of the hunting stand was a direct result of these security modifications. "I am very close friends with the director over there and some of those modifications have been made and I think you saw the modifications with the discovery of this hunting stand set up in a tree," he stated. The FBI swiftly intervened following the stand's discovery, dismantling it and transporting it to their laboratory for forensic analysis.
Providing further insight into the process, Bongino clarified the roles of the FBI and the Secret Service in such situations. "Let me walk the American public through how this works. The FBI is not responsible for, obviously, the security plan for the president. That is the purview of the Secret Service," he said. "However, if the Secret Service finds something they believe could be critical, I want to emphasize could be, we take over. We have what is called a MOU, a memorandum of understanding with the Secret Service where we will investigate after that."
Bongino also recounted his communication with Deputy Director of the Secret Service Matt Quinn, emphasizing the urgency with which the situation was handled. "I was on the phone yesterday back and forth with the D2, Deputy Director of the Secret Service Matt Quinn, great guy," Bongino continued.
"They were very concerned, their security sweep discovered this hunting stand. The director, Kash Patel, was directly involved right away, Im on the email chain with him. He ordered an immediate response, I believe we had our plane flown down there. This hunting stand was appropriately dismantled and flown to our lab, I believe its there right now, and all forensic tools from digital tools to biometric tools will be applied to find out who put this up and why."
The discovery of the hunting stand coincided with the "No Kings" protests, where some demonstrators expressed hostility towards President Trump and other senior officials. As the investigation unfolds, the focus remains on identifying those responsible for the security breach and ensuring the safety of the President and other high-ranking officials.
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