Description: On July 13, 2024, at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, a lone gunman fired multiple shots at former President Donald J. Trump, wounding him and two others, and killing a spectator. Following this tragedy, the United States Secret Service came under heavy criticism for numerous oversights in the planning and implementation of security measures for the event. These miscalculations included, but were not limited to, pre-event briefings, technological deployments, counter surveillance, tactical assets,      post locations, interoperable radio communications,    and a multi-agency command center.                              

G. Michael Verden is a former Secret Service agent whose assignments included Major Events Division,  Counter Assault Team and Presidential Protective Division, among others. He has created, designed, and implemented security plans for campaign events of presidents and presidential candidates. Mike will walk us through the detailed planning for an outdoor campaign event beginning one week prior and how the lead agency coordinates with local, state, and federal authorities to develop an integrated security plan. He’ll also share security deficiencies the investigations uncovered to teach us what can be done to prevent future attacks against public officials.

Learning Objectives:

After attending this session, the attendees will be able to:

Know the security planning and preparation required for an event involving a presidential candidate including site walk-throughs, post assignments, perimeter boundaries, contingency planning, emergency response, security technologies, communications, and coordination between multiple authorities.    

Learn about the assailant’s behavior that preceded the incident, such as social media activity, online research, and digital communications. The review includes determination of a motive, pre-attack planning, site visits, firearms training, criminal history, work experience, and personal life.

Discover what went wrong on the day of the attack including resources allocation, law enforcement synchronization, building access control, incident response, decision-making, contingency procedures, and evacuation movements.            

Understand the importance of coordination in post-incident investigative efforts, which relies on established partnerships with law enforcement and public safety officials at the local, state and federal levels, along with private sector entities to successfully investigate this crime.