Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) on Thursday revealed startling information, alleging that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was aware of five assassination teams targeting former President Donald Trump.
Gaetz claimed that these teams, comprised of both foreign and domestic individuals, had been identified but that federal authorities had significantly underestimated their threat. He disclosed details from a conversation with a senior DHS official, who had expressed concerns about the adequacy of Trump’s protection before the recent assassination attempts.
Gaetz’s remarks follow the latest assassination plot against the former president and current GOP nominee.
The first incident, which occurred on July 13 during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, saw Trump grazed by a bullet while a bystander was tragically killed. The second attempt happened on Sunday at Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, where Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was arrested and charged with firearms offenses. Trump was unharmed in this latest incident, although the investigation is still ongoing.
In an interview, Gaetz described a briefing he received from a DHS official, who revealed that five known assassination teams are currently operating within the United States.
According to the Florida Republican, citing the whistleblower’s claims, three of these teams are driven by foreign governments, while two are composed of domestic actors. All five teams are specifically targeting Trump, raising serious concerns about the adequacy of the protection provided to the former president.
“And I’ll break a little news for you,” Gaetz told the “Human Events Daily” podcast. “I had a senior official from the Department of Homeland Security in my office before the second assassination attempt, saying that what he has assessed is that there are five known assassination teams in the United States, three inspired by other governments, two that are here that are known domestic assassination teams.
“And with that, this individual was coming to me concerned that the force protection around President Trump was not sufficient for what it needed to be,” he said.
Gaetz emphasized that the coordination between the Secret Service and local law enforcement needs to be significantly strengthened, particularly in light of the threat level identified by DHS. “The dignitary protection level is like the bare minimum that we have to do to keep our presidents and our presidential candidates safe while they’re on the trail,” he said.
He also expressed concerns about the reallocation of protective resources away from Trump’s security detail. Gaetz alleged that assets were redirected from Trump’s protection to other dignitaries, such as First Lady Jill Biden and former National Security Advisor John Bolton, even when the threat to Trump was notably elevated.
“We don’t want anything bad to happen to Jill Biden,” Gaetz clarified, “but at the same time, the threat envelope for her was substantially different than the threat envelope around President Trump. It would not have necessitated pulling assets away from the Trump detail.”
