Internet rubbishes claim Secret Service ramped up Trump's security amid Iranian assassination plot threat

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WASHINGTON, DC: US authorities received intel about an alleged Iranian scheme to carry out an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump just weeks before gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks targeted the 2024 GOP presidential nominee at a Pennsylvania campaign rally last weekend.

In response to the threat, the Secret Service increased their security measures around the 78-year-old MAGA figurehead, as stated by two US officials.

However, despite these precautionary measures, the shooting incident which appears to be unrelated to the alleged Iranian plot, took place on Saturday, July 13.

During the incident, former President Trump sustained a minor injury to his right ear when 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire, according to the New York Post.

Three rally attendees were shot, including Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old volunteer firefighter who heroically shielded his family from the gunfire and lost his life.

According to the officials, the details of the potential Iranian plot were shared with the lead agent responsible for Trump's security detail and with the Trump campaign.

What prompted the Iranian assassination plot against former President Trump?

National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said, “As we have said many times, we have been tracking Iranian threats against former Trump administration officials for years, dating back to the last administration.”

“These threats arise from Iran’s desire to seek revenge for the killing of Qassem Soleimani. We consider this a national and homeland security matter of the highest priority,” she added.

In 2020, during his presidency, Donald Trump issued the order to have Soleimani, the leader of the Quds Force of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, assassinated.

Watson emphasized, “At this time, law enforcement has reported that their investigation has not identified ties between the shooter and any accomplice or co-conspirator, foreign or domestic.”

The Secret Service cautioned the Trump campaign multiple times against organizing outdoor rallies due to security concerns about controlling access, sources told CNN, which was first to report the potential threat.

However, the warnings have been rather general in nature, according to the sources.

As per one source who spoke to CNN, earlier in the election campaign, the Trump campaign limited impromptu outdoor events where attendees were not screened by the Secret Service.

“The Secret Service and other agencies are constantly receiving new potential threat information and taking action to adjust resources, as needed,” agency spokesman Anthony Guglielmi informed CNN Tuesday.

Guglielmi declined to discuss the specific threat, but stated that the agency "takes threats seriously and responds accordingly."

The attempt on Trump's life has led federal law enforcement to issue warnings about potential copycat attacks or election-related retaliation.

Additional Secret Service agents have been assigned to Trump's and President Joe Biden's detail, and independent presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr has also received Secret Service protection in the wake of the shooting.

The Trump campaign chose not to provide a statement regarding the assassination plot.

In response to inquiries from CNN, the campaign stated, “We do not comment on President Trump’s security detail. All questions should be directed to the United States Secret Service.”

The Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations has refuted any involvement in a scheme to assassinate the ex-president.

“These accusations are unsubstantiated and malicious. From the perspective of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Trump is a criminal who must be prosecuted and punished in a court of law for ordering the assassination of General Soleimani,” a spokesperson for the mission told CNN, adding. “Iran has chosen the legal path to bring him to justice.”

Internet rubbishes claim Secret Service ramped up its protection around Trump following Iranian threat

People online lambasted the US authorities who claimed that they received intel about a potential Iranian assassination plot against former President Donald Trump weeks before the deadly shooting attempt on the 78-year-old at the Keystone state campaign rally.

One X user remarked, “So what we saw in PA was heightened security?!”

Another user asked, “And THAT was the security they gave him over this weekend?????”

Another user said, “Of course. Then why wasn’t the security extra extra tight? Do we not believe that they have the motivation? The means? The sympathizers here already? Such a failure.”

One X user claimed, “And his security was “ramped up” after that…. And he still nearly got killed. The director of the @SecreService must be terminated!”

Another user wrote, “So they have zero excuses for the failure.”

Finally, this user tweeted, “Convenient to bring an Iranian plot into the mix after a 20yo kid was able to sashay onto a rooftop with a rifle and take a shot. Deflecting and imagining much???”

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.