(PatriotWise.com) — US officials revealed last Tuesday that additional security was added to Donald Trump’s protective detail before the July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, due to a threat on his life from Iran.
The added security was put in place just days before a gunman attempted to assassinate the former president. However, officials said that the rally shooting was unrelated to the Iranian threat.
According to National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson, intelligence officials have been tracking threats against the former president and other Trump administration officials by Iran ever since Trump ordered the killing of Quds Force Commander Qassam Soleimani in January 2020.
US officials told CNN anonymously that the Trump campaign and the US Secret Service were informed about the Iranian threats, which prompted the Secret Service to ramp up resources and assets to protect the former president.
Despite the increased security, a 20-year-old Pennsylvania man was able to access a nearby rooftop in Butler and fire shots at the former president as he was addressing a rally crowd last Saturday evening.
Adrienne Watson reiterated that federal investigators have found no links between the gunman and any foreign or domestic “accomplice or co-conspirator.”
Tehran dismissed the accusations that it was plotting to kill the former president.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said Tehran “strongly rejected the claim that it was involved in any recent attack on Trump or that it was plotting to take such action.
Instead, Kanaani said Iran planned to “pursue legal action” against the former president for his role in “assassinating” Soleimani, whom Kanaani described as a “martyr.”
Iran’s UN Ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani, said last Tuesday that the accusations made by the US were “politically motivated” and “baseless.”
The Secret Service declined to comment on the alleged Iranian threat, citing security concerns.
Agency spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the Secret Service and other US agencies constantly receive “new potential threat information” and take action as needed to “adjust resources.”
The US Secret Service has repeatedly warned the Trump campaign against holding rallies outdoors because they are more difficult to secure and pose a greater risk to the candidate.
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