Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to speak in Pennsylvania on Wednesday, about 200 miles from the site of an attempted murder earlier this month. Experts told Fox News Digital that security measures will be “heightened” in light of the scrutiny facing the U.S. Secret Service and the possibility of a “copycat” killer.
“There is the expression 'copycats'. They say: 'Look at the attention that [would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks] “I got it,” and they say, “I want that attention,” Kevin Maloy, a former State Department special agent, told Fox News Digital.
“I'm sure the Secret Service has stepped up their efforts because, you know, there's a fear that there's a copycat. He came so close to ultimate success so easily; maybe I could do something,” he continued.
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Former President Trump survived an assassination attempt on July 13 during a rally in Pennsylvania. (Trump campaign office/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Gene Petrino, who served as SWAT commander for Plantation Police Department, Florida for 26 years and is an expert on active shooter incidents, told Fox News Digital that “there is always a concern that there are copycat shooters” and that “a recent attack would definitely heighten the security risk and response.”
Fears of a new attempt are not unfounded. In the three weeks before John F. Kennedy Jr. was shot dead by Lee Harvey Oswald, several assassination attempts against him had been thwarted in Chicago and Miami, according to interviews with former Secret Service agents conducted by CBS Miami and ABC Chicago.
The Republican candidate will take the stage at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center in Harrisburg, which has more than 1 million square feet of indoor space, according to his website.
TRUMP TO RETURN TO PENNSYLVANIA FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT
More than 12,000 people packed into Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on July 20, 2024, to see former President Donald Trump and vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance in their first joint rally, and the first since Trump was hit by a would-be assassin's bullet but survived. (Fox News Digital/Brandon Gillespie)
Pennsylvania State Police and Capitol Police will assist the Secret Service in securing the site, State Police told Fox News Digital, while the local Harrisburg Police Department will provide traffic control around the site.
“You would think that [an indoor venue] “It would be easier to ensure security,” said Maloy, who protected former Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and former Secretary of State John Kerry. “But the potential size of the crowd that would be packed into the space, especially after the Butler event, could pose its own issues with visibility.”
Maloy said security checks at the stadium have likely already been conducted or are underway to determine potential security vulnerabilities and locations where a weapon or explosive could be located.
“We have already seen a big difference in [Trump’s] “At the RNC, security is very important. At his rally, I would expect to see the same thing,” Petrino said. “I think there will be more distance between Trump and the crowd, and a wider path as he gets closer to the stage. I would be surprised if there weren't drones providing aerial cover, multiple sniper teams covering multiple angles, and even K-9 teams.”
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Crowds of people in Butler, Pennsylvania, at former President Trump's rally (Fox News)
“I don't think he'll spend much time on and off the stage,” Petrino added.
Arriving and leaving a location are “one of the most vulnerable times for a ward,” Maloy said, because their timing and movements are predictable.
“You have to consider alternatives to that main entrance: an underground parking lot, a back or side door, something with a back or side view,” Maloy said. “If you can't do that, you have to put a tent in the area so that you can't see that area.”
Inside the compound, Maloy noted that there are catwalks, balconies and box seats that could be ideal vantage points for a potential shooter, and said that “access to these areas should be controlled.” The maintenance catwalks, he said, would be an ideal perch for Secret Service snipers.
He also noted that an evacuation strategy will be in place for the former president, with a motorcade prepared for him outside in case another assassination attempt occurs.
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Thousands of people lined the streets of Grand Rapids, Michigan, on July 20, 2024, to attend former President Donald Trump's first rally since the failed assassination attempt on him. (Fox News Digital/Brandon Gillespie)
The Butler incident, Maloy said, was caused by “incompetence or complacency” within the Secret Service, but that has since “[seen] “lessons learned from the Butler incident.”
“Not only was their pride hurt, but they were discredited,” Maloy said of the Secret Service. “They're a professional agency overall. They all stole from the Secret Service's protection book.”
“I don't know the answer to whether it was due to the incompetence of a few individuals or a number of individuals, or complacency that set in. That's what everyone is trying to figure out,” he continued.
