‘Suspicious’: U.S. Secret Service discovers ‘elevated hunting stand’ with direct line of sight to Trump’s Air Force One exit
WEST PALM BEACH, Florida – The U.S. Secret Service has discovered a “suspicious” hunting stand with a direct line of sight to where President Donald Trump exits Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport.
“USSS spotted a suspicious stand near the AF1 zone in Palm Beach,” said FBI Director Kash Patel on Sunday. “The FBI is investigating.”
The stand was located on Thursday, and Patel says it has not yet been connected to any specific individual.
“Prior to the president’s return to West Palm Beach, USSS discovered what appeared to be an elevated hunting stand within sight line of the Air Force One landing zone,” Patel told Fox News Digital.
“No individuals were located at the scene. The FBI has since taken the investigatory lead, flying in resources to collect all evidence from the scene, and deploying our cell phone analytics capabilities.”
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) October 19, 2025
Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications for the Secret Service, indicated his agency is “working closely” with the FBI as well as Palm Beach County law enforcement.
He said agents came upon the hunting stand during “advance security preparations” prior to Trump’s arrival in South Florida.
“There was no impact to any movements and no individuals were present or involved at the location,” Guglielmi told Fox News.
“While we are not able to provide details about the specific items or their intent, this incident underscores the importance of our layered security measures,” he added.
A law-enforcement source told Fox News Digital the stand appeared to have been set up “months ago.”
This new probe comes weeks after Ryan Routh was found guilty of attempting to assassinate Trump from a sniper’s nest as Trump was playing golf in West Pam Beach.
And on July 13, 2024, Trump was struck in the ear by a bullet during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Some reaction online to the suspicious stand includes:
“Whoever set that stand up isn’t hunting deer that close to an airport. The planes would scare the deer off. That stand was set up for one reason. To take out Trump. Needs to be fingerprinted and traced to where it was purchased.”
“That’s not just ‘suspicious,’ that’s terrifying. Security isn’t a luxury – it’s survival when it comes to a … president. Hope the agencies stay sharp and prevent anything before it even begins.”
“Protect POTUS at all costs! They’re never going to stop trying and we’re not even a year into his presidency.”
How are there any tree standing that have LOS to where the President boards/exits his plane?
There a very few trees surrounding the airport so how is it possible that of the few trees standing someone was allowed to setup a hunting tree stand with LOS to the President?
No one… pic.twitter.com/XuAFYwqebf
— Daniel Harris (@DanielLHarrisUS) October 19, 2025
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