Secret Service director ‘confident’ in RNC security plan

(NewsNation) —  The U.S. Secret Service said Monday it’s assured in the security plan for the Republican National Convention, where former President Donald Trump is expected to accept the Republican Party’s presidential nomination.

“I am confident in the security plan our Secret Service RNC coordinator and our partners have put in place, which we have reviewed and strengthened in the wake of Saturday’s shooting,” Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said in a statement Monday.

It comes after the FBI said Sunday that a 20-year-old gunman attempted to assassinate the former president at a campaign rally Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania. The gunman was shot and killed seconds after Trump was shot; he acted alone and was not previously on the FBI’s radar.

The assassination attempt did not prompt any changes to the Secret Service’s security plan for the event, said Audrey Gibson-Cicchino, the agency’s coordinator for the convention, at a press briefing Sunday.

“We are fully prepared and have a comprehensive security plan in place and are ready to go,” she said.

Cheatle said her agency is working with all involved federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to understand what happened, how it happened and how they can prevent an incident like the assassination attempt from happening again.

“In addition to the additional security enhancements we provided former President Trump’s detail in June, we have also implemented changes to his security detail since Saturday to ensure his continued protection for the convention and the remainder of the campaign,” she said in the statement.

A Secret Service source told NewsNation that Trump now has nearly the same level of coverage as current President Joe Biden.

The FBI has not determined the motive behind the shooting at the Trump rally, which also resulted in the death of an attendee and serious injury to two others.

Over 50,000 people are expected to gather in downtown Milwaukee for the start of the RNC this week.

NewsNation’s Kellie Meyer, Caitlyn Shelton, Sean Noone and Joe Khalil contributed to this report.

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