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DEVELOPING: Secret Service Conducting ‘Criminal Investigation’ Into Security Breach At Mar-A-Lago

   DailyWire.com
US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrive for a Christmas Eve dinner with his family at Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida on December 24, 2019. (Photo by Nicholas Kamm / AFP) (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)
NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images

A security incident at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort Monday night has triggered a criminal investigation by the Secret Service in conjunction with the Palm Beach Police Department.

A police department spokesman revealed to reporters early Tuesday afternoon that an “open and active criminal investigation” is underway related to an incident that occurred Monday night and that no arrests have been made, but declined to provide further details. However, the department did provide what The Miami Herald describes as “a nearly completely redacted incident report showing officers were called around 7 p.m. to ‘assist’ another law enforcement agency.”

The Herald provides scant details on the case, only that it is a joint criminal investigation and that the “unspecified” incident took place around 7 p.m. “Michael Ogrodnick, a police spokesman, declined further comment Tuesday, citing the investigation,” the outlet reports. “But the department did provide a nearly completely redacted incident report showing officers were called around 7 p.m. to ‘assist’ another law enforcement agency. The Secret Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment.”

Trump’s resort has been on heightened security in recent weeks after a series of security breaches, some of which have made national news. The property, which Trump has jokingly referred to as “The Southern White House,” has reportedly tightened security even more over the last few days as a result of the president ordering a strategic airstrike that killed Iran’s top military leader, Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force, a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization.

In response to the increased threat of retaliation from Iran-backed entities, the Department of Homeland Security issued an update on its National Terrorism Advisory System on Saturday. Below is the full text of the advisory:

  • The United States designated Iran a “State Sponsor of Terrorism” in 1984 and since then, Iran has actively engaged in or directed an array of violent and deadly acts against the United States and its citizens globally. The United States designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a Foreign Terrorist Organization on April 15, 2019 for its direct involvement in terrorist plotting.
  • On January 2, 2020, the United States carried out a lethal strike in Iraq killing Iranian IRGC-Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani while Soleimani was in Iraq.
  • Iranian leadership and several affiliated violent extremist organizations publicly stated they intend to retaliate against the United States.
  • At this time we have no information indicating a specific, credible threat to the Homeland. Iran and its partners, such as Hizballah, have demonstrated the intent and capability to conduct operations in the United States.
  • Previous homeland-based plots have included, among other things, scouting and planning against infrastructure targets and cyber enabled attacks against a range of U.S.- based targets.
  • Iran maintains a robust cyber program and can execute cyber attacks against the United States. Iran is capable, at a minimum, of carrying out attacks with temporary disruptive effects against critical infrastructure in the United States.
  • Iran likely views terrorist activities as an option to deter or retaliate against its perceived adversaries. In many instances, Iran has targeted United States interests through its partners such as Hizballah.
  • Homegrown Violent Extremists could capitalize on the heightened tensions to launch individual attacks.
  • An attack in the homeland may come with little or no warning.
  • The Department of Homeland Security is working closely with our federal, state, local, and private sector partners to detect and defend against threats to the Homeland, and will enhance security measures as necessary.

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