(LOOTPRESS) – US authorities recently received intelligence about a plot by Iran to assassinate Donald Trump from a human source, according to CNN.
This led to an increase in security around the former president by the Secret Service. Although Thomas Matthew Crooks, the would-be assassin who attempted to kill the former president on Saturday, was not connected to the plot, said the sources.
The presence of the intelligence threat from a hostile foreign intelligence agency and the heightened security for Trump raises concerns about the security gaps at the Saturday rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and how a 20-year-old man was able to access a nearby rooftop to shoot and injure the former president. It’s uncertain whether the specifics of the Iran threat were shared with the Trump campaign, which declined to comment, stating, “We do not comment on President Trump’s security detail. All questions should be directed to The United States Secret Service.”
According to an agency spokesperson, the Secret Service recently bolstered the former President’s security detail by adding protective resources and capabilities. Officials from the Secret Service have repeatedly cautioned the Trump campaign against organizing outdoor rallies, which pose greater security risks than events that the agency can better control access to, according to sources briefed on the matter. The warnings have been more general in nature. At one point during this election cycle, the campaign ceased organizing spontaneous off-the-record events where guests weren’t screened by Secret Service beforehand due to security concerns, as per a source familiar with the matter. The FBI, responsible for the investigation into Saturday’s shooting, declined to comment.
CNN has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security and Iran’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations for comment.
