Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL) revealed that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has knowledge of five assassination teams, made up of both foreign and domestic individuals, that are specifically aiming to target former President Donald Trump.
Gaetz cited a conversation with a senior DHS official who expressed concerns about Trump’s inadequate protection before a second assassination attempt.
“And I’ll break a little news for you,” Gaetz said. “I had a senior official from the Department of Homeland Security in my office before the second assassination attempt, saying that what he has assessed is that there are five known assassination teams in the United States, three inspired by other governments, two that are here that are known domestic assassination teams. And with that, this individual was coming to me concerned that the force protection around President Trump was not sufficient for what it needed to be.”
“We don’t want anything bad to happen to Jill Biden,” Gaetz added, “but at the same time, the threat envelope for her was substantially different than the threat envelope around President Trump. It would not have necessitated pulling assets away from the Trump detail.”
“One reason is because when they entered the country, there was insufficient scrutiny to stop them from doing so,” Gaetz said. “In the world in which we live—with an open border, with insufficient resources to stop people from coming here from other places to do harm—this is the threat level we have to confront. We can’t be Pollyanna about it; we’ve got to be vigorous.”
This second attempt occurred at Trump’s golf course in Florida, following a first incident at a rally in July where Trump was grazed by a bullet.
Gaetz reported that three of the five teams are linked to foreign governments, raising questions about the security measures for Trump compared to other dignitaries.
He criticized the reallocation of protective resources away from Trump during heightened threats and emphasized the need for improved coordination between the Secret Service and local law enforcement.
Gaetz connected the risks to broader issues of border security, asserting that open border policies increase threats to high-profile individuals like Trump.
