FBI personnel investigate the area around Trump International Golf Club after an apparent assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump on 15 September, 2024. Photo: AFP / Getty Images/ Joe Raedle
Donald Trump will likely be under an increased security detail next time he visits his Florida golf course, after Secret Service agents were forced to intercept a second apparent assassination attempt on the property's perimeter.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said Trump's status as a former president meant his security detail was limited, compared to what it would have been during his presidency.
An individual allegedly took aim at Trump with an AK-47-style rifle through the golf course fence, before being spotted and fired on by Secret Service officials.
Bradshaw said had the incident occurred while Trump was still the sitting president, "the entire course would have been locked down".
"You got to understand the golf course is surrounded by shrubbery, and once someone is in the shrubbery they're pretty much out of sight," he said.
"And at this level that [Donald Trump] is at right now, he's not the sitting president. If he was, we would have had this entire golf course surrounded.
"Because he's not, the security is limited to the area that the Secret Service deems possible.
"I would imagine that next time he comes to the golf course, there will be a little more people around the perimeter.
"But the Secret Service did exactly what they should have done, they provided exactly what the protection should have been, and their agent did a fantastic job."
The incident comes just days after a Secret Service investigation confirmed security breakdowns made it possible for a would-be assassin to take aim at the former president at a rally in July.
The internal investigation found along with failures on the ground at the Pennsylvania rally, the Secret Service was slow to beef up security for Trump as his campaign unfolded.
A summary of the findings have been shared with the Senate Homeland Security Committee and a House investigative task force but have not been released publicly yet.
Secret Service director Ronald Rowe told the Washington Post he had begun an agency-wide review to harden the protective bubble around officials under the organisation's protection.
The outlet said he warned them doing so would cost money.
"The Secret Service cannot operate under the paradox of 'zero fail mission' while also making our special agents and uniformed division officers execute a very critical national security mission by doing more with less," he said in a statement.
The Mar-a-Lago, a private club with open access for members and guests, has also long been the subject of security concerns.
In 2018, an 18-year-old convinced Secret Service agents he was a club member by simply walking down the beach and joining the line for access.
The teen later told a judge he "wanted to see how far [he] could get".
Following the attack on Trump in Pennsylvania, security had been increased around the property.
A Palm Beach security alert said there would be "enhanced security measures involving Mar-a-Lago and US Secret Service protected persons" which would shut down roads from 20 July.
"This closure will be in effect 24 hours a day, seven days a week, until the November general election at a minimum," the alert said.
Several roads surrounding the property were closed indefinitely.
Retired FBI agent Kenneth Gray, now a lecturer at the University of New Haven, told the ABC "one does have to wonder why it is [the shooter] was able to get this close".
"[Mr Trump] was one hole away, so 400, 500 yards away," he said.
"That is close enough that had the shooter wanted to take a shot then, he could have struck the president at that distance but instead he was waiting for the president to get closer.
"Strategically, as far as [the Secret Service] letting this happen the way it did, I have some questions about that.
"I'm sure the former president is very safe. This is his golf course in his territory, next to Mar-a-Lago and so I'm sure he felt very comfortable in that environment.
"But the Secret Service will have to try to make recommendations to the former president about ways and venues he should be going into that could keep him safer than what he actually is."
In August, after complaints from residents and issues with traffic, Mar-a-Lago, the Secret Service and Palm Beach city officials reached a deal to have at least one road open when Trump was not at the club.
The latest apparent assassination attempt has sparked a re-closure of roads, meaning only residents and visitors with identification will be allowed through security checkpoints.
US President Joe Biden said in a statement he has directed his team to "continue to ensure that Secret Service has every resource, capability and protective measure necessary to ensure the former president's continued safety".
- ABC
