The structure was discovered by the Secret Service in Palm Beach County, Florida, officials said on Oct. 19.
The FBI’s deputy director provided more details about a hunting stand that was found overlooking President Donald Trump’s Air Force One in Florida, saying the agency is now using its forensic tools in an investigation.
On Oct. 19, FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed the existence of the stand in a statement to multiple news outlets, including The Epoch Times.
Hunting stands, also known as tree or deer stands, are platforms that give hunters a better vantage point when hunting game such as deer.
Stand Is Dismantled
Agents with the Secret Service discovered the stand and were “very concerned” about the finding, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino told Fox News on the morning of Oct. 20.
“I believe we had our plane flown down there,” he said. “This hunting stand was appropriately dismantled. It’s being flown to our lab. I believe it’s there right now, and all the forensic tools we have, from digital tools to biometric tools, are all going to be applied to try to find out who put this up there and why.”
The Secret Service has since made changes to the security around the Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, where the stand was found, Bongino said.
“The FBI has since taken the investigatory lead—flying in resources to collect all evidence from the scene, and deploying our cell phone analytics capabilities,” Patel said in his Oct. 19 statement. “We are working with our [Justice Department] partners on service of any legal process required and will provide updates when able.”
Officials said the stand was found on Oct. 17, just before Trump spent the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
No Individuals Found
Patel and Secret Service officials have said that no person was at the scene where the stand was located.
Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi told media outlets that agents conducted a sweep near the airport ahead of Trump’s arrival in Palm Beach County.
