Secret Service will amp up security at upcoming Pennsylvania Trump rally due to 'copycat' fears: experts
Former President Donald Trump is slated to speak in Pennsylvania on Wednesday, about 200 miles from the venue where an attempt was made on his life earlier this month. Experts tell Fox News Digital that security measures will be "amped up" in light of scrutiny facing the U.S. Secret Service and the potential for a "copycat" killer.
"You have the expression 'copycats.' They say, ‘Look at the attention that [would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks] got,’ and they say, 'I want that attention,'" Kevin Maloy, a former special agent with the State Department, told Fox News Digital.
"I'm sure the Secret Service have amped up their efforts because, you know, you do have the fear a little bit of a copycat out there. He got that close to ultimate success that easily – maybe I could do something," he continued.
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Gene Petrino, who served as the SWAT commander for Florida's Plantation Police Department for 26 years and is an expert on active shooter incidents, told Fox News Digital that there is "always a concern for copycat shooters," and that "a recent attack would most definitely tighten the security risk and response."
The fear of another attempt isn't unfounded. Within the three weeks before John F. Kennedy Jr. was shot dead by Lee Harvey Oswald, there had been assassination plots against him thwarted in Chicago and Miami, according to interviews with former Secret Service agents conducted by CBS Miami and ABC Chicago.
The GOP nominee will take the stage at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center in Harrisburg, which has over one million square feet of indoor floor space, according to its website.
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Pennsylvania State and Capitol Police will assist the Secret Service in securing the venue, State Police told Fox News Digital, while the local Harrisburg Police Department will cover traffic control surrounding the venue.
"You would think that [an indoor venue] would be easier to secure," said Maloy, who protected former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and former Secretary of State John Kerry. "But the potential size of the crowd jammed into the space, especially after the Butler event, could pose its own concerns with visibility."
Security sweeps of the stadium have likely already taken place or are underway, Maloy said, to determine potential security vulnerabilities and locations where a weapon or explosive could potentially be stashed.
"We have already seen a big difference in [Trump's] security detail at the RNC. For his rally, I would expect to see the same thing," Petrino said. "I think you will see more distance between Trump and the crowd, and a wide pathway as he approaches the stage. I would be shocked if there weren't drones providing aerial coverage, multiple sniper teams covering multiple angles, and even K-9 teams."
"I think he will not spend a lot of time getting on and off stage," Petrino added.
Arriving and departing a venue are "one of the most vulnerable times for a protectee," Maloy said, because their timing and movement are predictable.
"You want 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 want to tent the area so that you can obscure vision to that area."
Inside the venue, Maloy noted that there are catwalks, balconies and boxed seating that could be ideal vantage points for a potential shooter, and said that "access to these area should be controlled." The maintenance catwalks, he said, would be an ideal position for Secret Service counter snipers.
He also noted that an evacuation strategy for the former president will be laid out, with a motorcade ready for him outside in the event that another assassination attempt takes place.
The close call in Butler, Maloy said, was either caused by "incompetency or complacency" within the Secret Service, but that since then, he has "[seen] lessons learned from the Butler incident."
"Their pride was not only dinged, it was hammered," Maloy said of the Secret Service. "They are a professional agency, overall. Everyone stole the Secret Service's protection book."
"Whether it was incompetence on some individuals or a series of individuals or complacency setting in, I don't know the answer to that – that's what everyone is trying to figure out," he continued.