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President Donald Trump boarded Air Force One quickly using the small stairs due to “increased security measures” at Palm Beach International Airport on Sunday, a White House official tells Fox News.
The heightened measures at the airport follow the Secret Service discovering a suspected hunting stand Friday near the airport with a clear line of sight to Air Force One when Trump boards and departs the presidential plane.
Fox News was first to report the discovery of the potential sniper position. No individuals have been arrested.
FBI Director Kash Patel said his agency is leading the investigation.
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Patel said the hunting stand has not yet been connected to any 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.”
USSS chief of communications Anthony Guglielmi also confirmed that the organization is “working closely” with the FBI as well as law enforcement in Palm Beach County.
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Guglielmi said agents discovered the hunting stand during their “advance security preparations” prior to Trump’s arrival in Palm Beach.
“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.
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The investigation comes weeks after Ryan Routh was found guilty of attempting to assassinate Trump on a Palm Beach golf course from a sniper’s nest he set up in bushes along a fence line.
Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
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