Donald Trump Security Plan Changed After Mayor Explores Closing Mar-a-Lago
Former President Donald Trump's security plans have changed again.
After the mayor of Palm Beach said the town would look into closing Mar-a-Lago, the Secret Service agreed to reopen South Ocean Boulevard, the road running alongside the resort, under a new schedule. The road had previously been closed indefinitely as part of the security response to the July 13 assassination attempt on Trump.
The town and Secret Service reached a compromise this week, allowing for the boulevard to reopen whenever Trump is not at his Florida resort. The Southern Boulevard Bridge has also returned to its regular schedule.
"We are currently working with the USSS [U.S. Secret Service] and the United States Coast Guard to expand the current drawbridge opening restrictions," the town of Palm Beach Police Department said in a Monday statement.
Newsweek on Friday reached out to the Secret Service via email for comment.
Security details at Trump's various properties, including Mar-a-Lago, the Trump Tower in Manhattan and his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, were all increased after a sniper opened fire at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, grazing the Republican nominee's ear with a bullet.
As part of those changes, the Secret Service closed South Ocean Boulevard in the days following the assassination attempt with no plans to reopen the road. Local police had previously said that "at a minimum" the shutdown would last through Election Day on November 5.
When the road was first shut, the town told residents that "neither Town Officials nor the Town Council" helped make the decision but that it was working with Secret Service to minimize the impacts of the closure and that it was looking to pursue legal options to keep the road open when Trump was not in town.
The road closures had also raised residents' concerns about traffic delays and emergency response times. Some also expressed worries about their own safety, citing the threats Trump has received.
Palm Beach Mayor Danielle Moore said at a town council meeting last month that she would explore closing Mar-a-Lago, which has remained open for business, to address concerns that the new checkpoints and road closures would be ineffective if hundreds of people were still visiting the resort.
"President Trump, the Trump family and the Mar-a-Lago Club do not want to inconvenience anyone, especially their neighbors and greater community in Palm Beach," a Trump family spokesperson told WPBF 25 News on Monday. "The Trumps have been members of the community for 30 years; it is their home, and they share the sentiments of fellow town residents."
The town has said that the road closure would be continuously monitored and that "changes may occur when necessary."