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President Donald Trump will use bulletproof glass around his podium during future outdoor events, multiple news sources reported late Thursday.
The additional security measure comes one month after Trump was shot during an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, that killed one person and seriously injured two others.
The Trump campaign has not officially commented on the new security measure.
“The Secret Service use of UpArmored glass around former President Trump is another step to ensure the campaign is and remains secure,” said ABC News contributor Don Mihalek, a retired senior Secret Service agent.
“This isn’t just a piece of glass but a large, bulky and heavy armored glass that will require extensive logistics capability, normally reserved for large-scale outdoor events,” he added.
The safety change is usually used to protect the current president, according to a CBS News report. Then-Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle approved the exception following the Butler assassination attempt before her resignation.
The efforts to step up security follow controversy over 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks gaining access to a rooftop outside of Trump’s Butler rally. He fired approximately eight shots before being eliminated by a counter-sniper.
Additional reports claimed that Crooks performed advanced research on the location that included recording video with a drone. Multiple videos have also surfaced of spectators and police who spotted Crooks before the shooting.
An investigation is already underway to evaluate security lapses during the shooting at the Butler event. Louisiana Republican Rep. Clay Higgins, a member of the task force, released a preliminary investigative report on Thursday.
As I have said, every question will be answered, every theory explored, and every doubt erased. The American people deserve the full truth on the attempted assassination of President Trump,” Higgins wrote.
“Our investigative efforts are moving forward in good faith. The release of my preliminary investigative report is reflective of my desire to deliver transparency and reassurance to the American people,” he continued.
Of special concern was the congressman’s request to examine the shooter’s body on Aug. 5.
“My effort to examine Crooks’ body on Monday, August 5, caused quite a stir and revealed a disturbing fact… the FBI released the body for cremation 10 days after J13,” he wrote.
