White House chief of staff Susie Wiles is set to hold a meeting soon on security protocols for events attended by President Donald Trump in light of the media dinner shooting over the weekend.
“President Trump and the White House are standing by the leadership of Secret Service, and President Trump has said he personally thinks they did an excellent job neutralizing the shooter and moving the President, First Lady, Vice President and cabinet to safety,” a senior White House official told the Washington Examiner on Monday morning.
“Nevertheless,” the official said, “Chief of Staff Susie Wiles is convening a meeting early this week with the White House operations team, USSS, and DHS leadership to discuss protocol and practices for major events involving POTUS.”
The White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, held at the Washington Hilton hotel this year, was disrupted when a suspect rushed past security. Gunshots were heard from the ballroom where the dinner was held. Trump, along with his Cabinet members and other high-profile politicians, was promptly escorted out of the hotel due to the suspected threat.
The 31-year-old suspect, identified as Cole Thomas Allen, was taken into custody as authorities investigate the incident. Allen is set to be arraigned on Monday.
Wiles’s meeting, according to the statement, will discuss the protocols that successfully stopped the alleged gunman and additional procedures that will help secure future events as the nation’s 250th anniversary nears. Trump wants the association to put on another dinner to “redo” the one that was disrupted within the next month.
When asked for comment, the White House declined to reveal a date or time for the meeting.
The shooting raised concerns about the venue’s security. Attendees had to pass through a Secret Service security checkpoint in order to enter the ballroom but did not have to provide ID. Some attendees who were staying in the hotel said they did not have their luggage inspected.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT COLE THOMAS ALLEN, THE TRUMP DINNER SHOOTING SUSPECT
The incident is reminiscent of the attempted assassination of former President Ronald Reagan in 1981, considering the same hotel was the location of that shooting.
While proud of the Secret Service’s quick response to the suspected gunman, Trump used the incident to stress the need for his own secured ballroom at the White House. The Department of Justice subsequently urged plaintiffs challenging the ballroom’s construction to drop their lawsuit over raised security concerns.
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