Secret Service boosts and rethinks security for first Trump-Vance rally and campaign

CNN —

The US Secret Service is scrambling to increase security ahead of former President Donald Trump’s first campaign rally since the failed assassination attempt on his life last week, sources familiar with the planning told CNN.

The security around Trump’s future rallies and events is being entirely rethought, including where they should be held – whether indoors or in more secure outdoor locations. Outdoor events for Trump like the one in Butler, Pennsylvania, where he was nearly assassinated, will likely be severely limited, sources said, if not entirely done away with.

The ramp up in security reflects several new assessments by law enforcement since Saturday’s shooting, officials familiar with the assessments told CNN, including concern about a possible copycat incident and others who may be inspired to carry out another attack after seeing the previous one narrowly fail.

A campaign rally site for Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is empty and littered with debris Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

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Multiple people familiar with the planning for this weekend’s rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, at an indoor arena said that both Secret Service and local law enforcement have recently increased the number of officers who will work on securing the event.

During a board of commissioners meeting on Thursday, Kent County, Michigan, Undersheriff Bryan Muir said the sheriff’s office was given a “last-minute request” from the Secret Service for 50 to 60 officers from the department to help with security for the rally.

“We assist the Secret