U.S. Secret Service Releases Report on Drones That Threatened Trump's Life

The U.S. Secret Service did not consider civilian drone incidents a threat to senior officials until the 2024 assassination attempt on then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, when a drone was used in preparing the operation.

A U.S. government audit found that the U.S. Secret Service has dealt with incidents involving civilian drones since at least 2015. At that time, a drone approached President Barack Obama’s motorcade in Hawaii, and in 2016, another drone flew at an altitude of about 60 meters above participants in a presidential candidate Bernie Sanders rally. Several other quadcopter drones were also detected during President Joe Biden’s inauguration ceremony in Washington, D.C., in January 2021.

According to the report, security regulations protecting senior officials were not revised until after the 2024 assassination attempt on Trump.

The audit also revealed that eight out of 22 security guidelines had not been reviewed within required timeframes, despite needing updates every four years. One such guideline, related to international travel security for the U.S. Vice President, had not been updated since July 2001.

On July 13, 2024, Trump was the target of an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The then-U.S. president was shot in the ear, one rally attendee was killed, and two others were injured.

According to the Secret Service, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks fired shots from a rooftop outside the rally area and was killed at the scene.

Crooks used a drone to plan the assassination attempt on Trump and launched the drone without obstruction just hours before the rally to survey the area.

Source: "Novosti"