Security Level Questioned After Shooting Incident Near White House
Despite the lower security designation, President Trump later defended the response by law enforcement and the Secret Service following the incident.
“I’m the one that would complain,” said Trump. “I’d be up here right now saying they didn’t do their job. Oh, believe me, because, you know, it’s my life.”
A government official, speaking to *The Washington Post*, said the decision not to assign the highest security level was based on the nature of the event and the fact that presidential attendance is not guaranteed each year.
“This is a dinner that (Trump) might not go to at the last minute and is not annually attended by him,” the official said. “The State of the Union can only occur with the president, the WHCD has occurred many times without POTUS.”
The event, held at the Washington Hilton hotel, also included top officials such as House Speaker Mike Johnson, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
According to law enforcement accounts, the suspect was armed with a shotgun, a handgun, and knives. A Secret Service officer was reportedly struck by gunfire but was protected due to wearing a bulletproof vest.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche later stated in an interview that he did not consider the incident a security failure, noting that the suspect was stopped before reaching the main event area.
“On the contrary, it was a massive security success story,” Blanche said. “I mean, if you think about what happened as far as what we know right now, this suspect barely breached the perimeter.”
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