The Secret Service has a new problem: More threats, more drones, more lone actors
The U.S. Secret Service has opened about 10,000 protective intelligence investigations since January, a 40% increase from the same period last year, and agency leaders say the cases arriving on their desks look very different than they did even a year ago.
More begin online, more involve lone actors and foreign adversaries, and agents are intervening far more often when someone shows signs they could become violent.
At a Wednesday press conference, Secret Service Director Sean Curran called the current threat environment the most challenging of his 24-year career, saying the number of cases now crossing the agency’s desk is “off the charts.”
“We are in a heightened level of a threat environment right now,” Curran said. “It’s no secret there are things happening around the globe that are always going to impact how we move, and that’s how we evaluate what our security plan is going to be.”
More investigations begin online
Secret Service officials told CBS News most investigations now start with online activity rather than letters or other traditional communications. They also reported nearly ten times as many mental health-related interventions this year, including voluntary and involuntary commitments and efforts with relatives and healthcare providers to stabilize someone in crisis.
The officials said agents do not wait for a direct threat before opening a case. Instead, they look for behavioral patterns such as obsessive fixation, escalating grievances, stalking and paranoia.
Curran defends White House dinner security
Curran also defended the security plan used during April’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner, where an armed man was stopped outside the Washington Hilton before reaching the event inside the banquet hall.
He said the suspect was intercepted at a screening checkpoint roughly 120 yards from the podium, arguing the encounter showed the security plan worked as intended.
“We do expect bad people to show up,” Curran said. “It’s just a reality of where we are.”
Friday’s rescheduled dinner will be held at the Waldorf Astoria, but Curran said the Secret Service is not approaching it as a do-over.
“We will always evaluate every site and right now we have an advanced team there and they will take back and they will set up plan, to set that site up for success,” he said. “Just like we did, at the white House Correspondents Dinner at the Hilton.”
Iran and drones remain key concerns
Agency officials said Iranian threats against President Donald Trump continue to factor into protective planning, while drone technology has become one of the agency’s fastest-moving security concerns.
Deputy Director Matt Quinn warned it is “a matter of time” before the United States faces a serious drone threat, saying detection and mitigation systems are in a constant race to keep up as drones become harder to identify and stop.
The Secret Service said it expanded its counter-drone capabilities after the 2024 assassination attempt against Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, and now deploys those systems during presidential travel and other protected events.
Round out your reading
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
