Former President Donald Trump’s remarks to the annual Bitcoin conference on Saturday were delayed for about an hour after two individuals were removed from the premises for “not following proper entry protocols,” the United States Secret Service said.
The two individuals were credentialed, the Secret Service said, adding that there was no “protective interest with these individuals.”
The agency determined there was “never a threat to the former president,” a Secret Service spokesperson told CNN.
Organizers and on-site commentary broadcast into the venue repeatedly suggested that the delay was because Trump wasn’t ready and that the delays were due to a special guest who might appear with Trump.
The former president ultimately took the stage alone and no indication of a potential security issue was relayed to the crowd. The New York Post was first to report on the delayed remarks.
Attendees were barred from bringing bags inside and were screened twice – once while entering the Music City Center and again before entering the room where Trump spoke, where the security measures included magnetometers.
Trump’s speech at the Nashville conference came two weeks after the assassination attempt on the former president’s life in Butler, Pennsylvania, which raised urgent questions about the Secret Service’s preparedness. CNN has reported that on that day, Trump and his campaign were not told of authorities’ search for a suspicious person who had been spotted earlier and was still being sought as Trump went on stage. The person turned out to be Thomas Matthews Crooks, the would-be assassin who wounded Trump in the shooting.
The actions of the Secret Service that day led to bipartisan condemnation of the agency and the resignation of USSS Director Kimberly Cheatle.
Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe is set to appear before a Senate panel on Tuesday to discuss how the agency will approve security measures in the wake of the assassination attempt.
