Mar-a-Lago vendor expressed security concerns at fundraiser Trump attended

Ray Bogan: In the wake of the second assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, Straight Arrow News has obtained information from a Mar-a-Lago vendor about what he described as lax security at the Republican Presidential nominee’s residence. SAN granted the vendor anonymity to protect future employment opportunities. 

The vendor said there were noticeable differences in security between a fundraiser in May when Trump was the presumptive nominee and an event in 2020 when Trump was President.

In May, the vendor said he and his team were allowed to enter through the southgate and nobody checked their IDs. 

He said at an event in 2020 – “This post was manned by uniformed USSS officers. There, our credentials were checked, we were briefly interviewed, and our vehicles were given an initial “review.” If I recall correctly there was a canine unit there. Some of our party had to remove gear from their vehicles. One of our party had a multi-tool in his car and that was confiscated by USSS.”

After they got through the gate, they had to load their gear into the building. 

In May, he said, “We loaded gear in from two vehicles. There was no USSS inspection of any of our equipment and we had no interaction with USSS at all, only MAL staff.” 

Here’s what he said happened when Trump was President –  “A USSS agent remained with our vehicle at all times. As we unloaded, the USSS agent scanned various items with the handheld magnetometer. Equipment boxes were opened as requested and scanned. In short, USSS made certain that none of our equipment constituted a possible threat.” 

SAN asked the Secret Service about the difference in security posture and did not receive a response. However it is Secret Service policy to not comment on means and methods used in protective operations. 

But we do have some insight into how the area around the compound is protected. 

Mar-a-Lago means ‘sea to lake’ in Spanish, so the operation includes personnel from the Secret Service, Palm Beach Sheriff’s department and the United States Coast Guard. 

Here’s what happens when Trump is present. 

The US Coast Guard protects both the ocean and intercoastal waterway. It’s split into three sections – east, center and west. Boaters in the east and west zones are required to keep moving at a steady speed and cannot slow down or stop. No boats or persons can enter the center zone without permission from the Coast Guard. 

Then there’s the roads. South Ocean Boulevard, which is part of Florida’s A1A highway, is closed to through traffic from the circle right next to the compound’s south gate to the block around the corner. 

Despite the second attempt on his life, Trump is maintaining a busy campaign schedule. He’s expected to be in Michigan, New York, Washington and North Carolina for rallies this week. 

I’m Ray Bogan for Straight Arrow News, for more unbiased reporting download the SAN app and turn on notifications.