Former President Donald Trump was briefly delayed by Secret Service agents from taking the stage at a conference in Nashville Saturday because of another security lapse, The Post has learned.
The holdup was caused by two individuals who made their way around metal detectors inside the Music City Center where the 2024 bitcoin conference was held shortly after 3:30 p.m., according to law enforcement sources.
Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump appears onstage at the bitcoin 2024 event in Nashville, Tennessee, on July 27, 2024. REUTERS
Trump waves as he arrives to board his plane at Palm Beach International Airport before heading to Nashville. APThe Secret Service said in a statement to The Post Monday night that the two were “credentialed and screened,” but were removed from the premises because they didn’t follow proper entry protocol.
“It was determined that there was no protective interest with these individuals and there was never a threat to the former president,” a Secret Service spokesperson said.
The GOP nominee was set to give the keynote address, but was instructed by his security detail to wait until the individuals were located, according to sources.
After the two people were tracked down, they were ejected from the event and questioned, sources said. Neither person has been criminally charged.
The two did get stopped at an initial checkpoint before they bypassed the second screening, sources said.
Trump delivered the keynote address after a brief delay, sources said. APAn email to the Trump campaign was also not immediately returned.
The latest security slipup came around two weeks after Trump was grazed by a sniper’s bullet during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in a failed assassination attempt.
The shooting has led to enormous criticism and scrutiny of the Secret Service as lawmakers have pushed for more answers from the federal agency as to what went wrong that day.
Everything we know about the Trump assassination attempt
- 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks was identified as the shooter who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
- Crooks was shot dead by Secret Service agents.
- The gunman grazed Trump’s ear, killed a 50-year-old retired fire chief, and injured two other rally-goers.
- Investigators detailed Crooks’ search history to lawmakers, revealing that he looked for the dates of Trump’s appearances and the Democratic National Convention.
- Crooks’ search history also revealed a broad interest in high-profile people and celebrities, regardless of their political affiliation, FBI officials reportedly said.
- Trump exclusively recounted surviving the “surreal” assassination attempt with The Post at the rally, remarking, “I’m supposed to be dead.”
- High-profile politicians, including President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, addressed the nation about the shooting, calling it “a heinous, horrible and cowardly act.”
Former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned from her post last week amid the firestorm.
Additional reporting by Victor Nava
