Secret Service failures during Trump rally spur concerns for Netanyahu visit, McCaul says
EXCLUSIVE: House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, is raising concerns about the security of U.S. and world leaders visiting here in the wake of the failed assassination attempt against former President Trump.
“Yeah, I mean, of course,” McCaul told Fox News Digital when asked whether security lapses at Trump’s Butler, Pennsylvania ,rally made him concerned about the level of security around President Biden as well. “I would say any [leader]… We’ve got Netanyahu coming down tomorrow. That’s a good example.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to address a joint session of Congress
on Wednesday as his country continues to be at war in Gaza with the pro-Palestinian terror group Hamas.
Security preparations are already underway on Capitol Hill, with fencing being seen around the perimeter of the U.S. Capitol as early as Tuesday morning.
But nevertheless, the deadly shooting at Trump’s rally earlier this month, in which one attendee was killed and two people were critically injured, has spurred concerns and conversations about elected officials’ safety. Trump himself was shot in the ear and evacuated by Secret Service agents.
McCaul said of possible tension at Netanyahu’s coming address, “I mean, the ingredients are there for it. It’s ripe for violence.”
He cited the threat of protests by pro-Palestinian demonstrators, some of whom have consistently patrolled the Capitol complex in the wake of Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, confronting pro-Israel lawmakers on both sides. More than 300 protesters were arrested in late October of last year after occupying the Cannon House Office building during a protest.
That same Capitol office building saw a massive protest on Tuesday, just a day before Netanyahu’s speech. Protesters occupied the Cannon building rotunda, chantinng and waving banners before dozens were arrested by police, some detained with zipties. Among the banners were messages reading, “Jews say: Stop the genocide.”
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News’ Liz Elkind