A hunting stand with a direct line of sight to US President Donald Trump's exit from Air Force One was discovered on Monday at the Palm Beach International Airport, Fox News reported on Sunday.
FBI Director Kash Patel said that the hunting stand had not been connected to any individual at the moment and that the bureau had opened an investigation into a possible new assassination attempt on Trump’s life.
"Prior to the President’s return to West Palm Beach, USSS discovered what appeared to be an elevated hunting stand within sight line of the Air Force One landing zone," Patel told Fox News.
"No individuals were located at the scene," he added. "The FBI has since taken the investigatory lead, flying in resources to collect all evidence from the scene, and deploying our cell phone analytics capabilities."
The Secret Service is “working closely” with the FBI and other Palm Beach County law enforcement, Chief of Communications Anthony Guglielm confirmed. "There was no impact to any movements, and no individuals were present or involved at the location," Guglielmi told Fox News.
The report included a law enforcement source who claimed that the stand had been set up months ago, and that it had only been discovered now.
Sniper accused of Trump’s assassination attempt found guilty
This comes only weeks after Ryan Routh, a 59-year-old from North Carolina, was found guilty of attempting to assassinate Trump in 2024 on a Palm Beach golf course with a sniper rifle.
Routh was charged with five federal criminal counts, including attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer, and multiple firearms offenses.
It was the second attempt on Trump’s life during his campaigning, with the previous one nearly missing his head and just grazing his ear during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.