Concerns Over Secret Service Security Following Incident with President Trump
A conservative watchdog group, Judicial Watch, has expressed serious concerns about the Secret Service’s security measures. This comes in light of a September incident at a restaurant where protesters managed to gain prior knowledge of President Donald Trump’s location and got alarmingly close to him.
After two assassination attempts and a change in leadership within the Secret Service, Tom Fitton, the President of Judicial Watch, is still sounding the alarm over ongoing security issues.
“I’m really concerned about the president’s safety,” Fitton remarked.
He added that President Trump “was almost killed twice, supposedly under the protection of the Secret Service, and then they walked him into a potentially dangerous ambush.”
The particular incident refers to President Trump’s visit in early September to Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak and Stone Crab, where protesters with Code Pink were able to get disturbingly close to him.
Alongside Trump that evening were Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and War Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Protesters were able to reserve a table right next to the president’s, where they shouted chants before being removed.
“These people were allowed to get within arm’s length of the sitting president with knives and who knows what else in the restaurant available to them,” Fitton noted, describing the situation as an “unbelievable security lapse.”
In response, Judicial Watch has filed a lawsuit to access internal communications from the Secret Service, as investigations continue.
The group is particularly focused on understanding how these protesters were able to know the president’s whereabouts in advance, allowing them to get so close—a fact that underscores significant security concerns.
“I can’t believe they would let random people sit in that close proximity to them,” said former FBI Assistant Director Chris Swecker. “That’s crazy. That’s like the days when Abraham Lincoln would ride down Pennsylvania Avenue in his coach and buggy with no protection.”
