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Tag: Mar-a-Lago

  • Armed man shot and killed after

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    Washington — A man armed with a shotgun was shot and killed early Sunday morning after making an “unauthorized entry” into the secure perimeter at President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, the U.S. Secret Service said.

    Multiple sources identified the man to CBS News as  21-year-old Austin T. Martin of Cameron, North Carolina. 

    Speaking at a news conference Sunday morning, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said the security detail detected that an individual had made his way into the inner perimeter of Mar-a-Lago at around 1:30 a.m. near a gate on the north side.

    “A deputy and two Secret Service agents on the detail went to that area to investigate,” Bradshaw said. “They confronted a white male that was carrying a gas can and a shotgun.”

    Bradshaw said the individual was ordered to drop the gas can and shotgun, at which point he put down the gas can and “raised the shotgun to a shooting position.” The deputy and Secret Service agents then fired their weapons and “neutralized the threat,” Bradshaw said. He said the man was declared dead at the scene. 

    Officials are investigating whether Martin purchased the shotgun along his driving route from North Carolina to Florida. His family reported him missing to authorities on Saturday. He had no known prior law-enforcement history, and investigators say the motive remains unknown.

    Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Rafael Barros of the U.S. Secret Service Miami Field Office said no law enforcement personnel were injured during the incident. 

    The Secret Service noted that no protectees were present at the location during the incident. The Secret Service agents involved have been placed on routine administrative status pending review, which is standard after an officer-involved shooting. The president remained in Washington this weekend. 

    Bradshaw said the FBI is leading the investigation into the incident, assisted by the Secret Service and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. 

    Nicole Sganga,

    Pat Milton,

    Jennifer Jacobs,

    Camilo Montoya-Galvez and

    Anna Schecter

    contributed to this report.

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  • Armed man enters secure Mar-a-Lago perimeter, shot dead by Secret Service

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    An armed man drove into the secure perimeter of Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump’s resort in Palm Beach, Florida, before being shot and killed early Sunday morning, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Secret Service.Although Trump often spends weekends at his resort, he was at the White House when the breach occurred around 1:30 a.m.The man had a gas can and a shotgun, authorities said. Investigators identified him as 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin of North Carolina, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to discuss it publicly, and authorities said his family had recently reported him missing.He’s believed to have purchased his shotgun while driving south, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said, and a box for the weapon was later discovered in the man’s vehicle.Investigators have not identified a motive. However, Trump has faced threats to his life before, including two assassination attempts during the 2024 campaign. The investigation is ongoingThe man entered the north gate of the property as another vehicle was exiting and was confronted by two Secret Service agents and a Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputy, according to Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw.“He was ordered to drop those two pieces of equipment that he had with him. At which time he put down the gas can, raised the shotgun to a shooting position,” Bradshaw said at a brief press conference. The two agents and the deputy “fired their weapons to neutralize the threat.”The Moore County Sheriff’s Department in North Carolina said a relative of Martin’s reported him missing early Sunday morning.Investigators are working to compile a psychological profile. Asked whether the man was previously known to law enforcement, Bradshaw said “not right now.”The FBI encouraged residents who live near Mar-a-Lago to check any security cameras they may have for footage that could help investigators.In a post on X, FBI Director Kash Patel said the bureau would be “dedicating all necessary resources” to the investigation. Martin was described by family as quiet and averse to gunsOn Sunday afternoon, vehicles blocked the entrance to a property listed in public records as an address for Martin at the end of a private road in Cameron, North Carolina.Braeden Fields, Martin’s cousin, reacted with disbelief. He described Martin as quiet, afraid of guns and from a family of avid Trump supporters.“He’s a good kid,” Fields, 19, said. He said they grew up together. “I wouldn’t believe he would do something like this. It’s mind-blowing,” Fields said.He said Martin worked at a local golf course and would send money from each paycheck to charity.“He wouldn’t even hurt an ant. He doesn’t even know how to use a gun,” Fields said.He said his cousin didn’t discuss politics.“We are big Trump supporters, all of us. Everybody,” Fields said, but his cousin was “real quiet, never really talked about anything.”Trump faced two assassination attempts during his last campaignSunday’s incursion at Mar-a-Lago took place a few miles from Trump’s West Palm Beach club where a man tried to assassinate him while he played golf during the 2024 campaign.A Secret Service agent spotted that man, Ryan Routh, aiming a rifle through the shrubbery before Trump came into view. Officials said Routh aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire and caused Routh to drop his weapon.Routh was found guilty last year and sentenced this month to life in prison.Trump also survived an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. That gunman fired eight shots before being killed by a Secret Service counter sniper. One rally attendee was killed by the gunman.White House brings in shutdown politicsWhite House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a post on X that “the United States Secret Service acted quickly and decisively to neutralize a crazy person, armed with a gun and a gas canister, who intruded President Trump’s home.”Leavitt used her post to blame Democratic lawmakers in Congress for the partial government shutdown affecting the Homeland Security Department, which began Feb. 14 after Democrats demanded changes to the president’s deportation campaign.The Secret Service is among the agencies where the vast majority of employees are continuing their work but missing a paycheck.“Federal law enforcement are working 24/7 to keep our country safe and protect all Americans,” Leavitt said. “It’s shameful and reckless that Democrats have chosen to shut down their Department.”The White House referred all questions to the Secret Service and FBI. Both Trump and his wife posted statements on social media after the incident, but they were unrelated to the shooting.Numerous recent acts of politically motivated violenceIn the past year, there was the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk; the assassination of the Democratic leader in the Minnesota state House and her husband and the shooting of another lawmaker and his wife; and an arson attack at the official residence of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.Five days ago, a Georgia man armed with a shotgun was arrested as he sprinted toward the west side of the U.S. Capitol. Trump is scheduled to deliver his State of the Union address there on Tuesday night.

    WASHINGTON —

    An armed man drove into the secure perimeter of Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump’s resort in Palm Beach, Florida, before being shot and killed early Sunday morning, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Secret Service.

    Although Trump often spends weekends at his resort, he was at the White House when the breach occurred around 1:30 a.m.

    The man had a gas can and a shotgun, authorities said. Investigators identified him as 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin of North Carolina, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to discuss it publicly, and authorities said his family had recently reported him missing.

    He’s believed to have purchased his shotgun while driving south, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said, and a box for the weapon was later discovered in the man’s vehicle.

    Investigators have not identified a motive. However, Trump has faced threats to his life before, including two assassination attempts during the 2024 campaign.

    The investigation is ongoing

    The man entered the north gate of the property as another vehicle was exiting and was confronted by two Secret Service agents and a Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputy, according to Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw.

    “He was ordered to drop those two pieces of equipment that he had with him. At which time he put down the gas can, raised the shotgun to a shooting position,” Bradshaw said at a brief press conference. The two agents and the deputy “fired their weapons to neutralize the threat.”

    The Moore County Sheriff’s Department in North Carolina said a relative of Martin’s reported him missing early Sunday morning.

    Investigators are working to compile a psychological profile. Asked whether the man was previously known to law enforcement, Bradshaw said “not right now.”

    The FBI encouraged residents who live near Mar-a-Lago to check any security cameras they may have for footage that could help investigators.

    In a post on X, FBI Director Kash Patel said the bureau would be “dedicating all necessary resources” to the investigation.

    Martin was described by family as quiet and averse to guns

    On Sunday afternoon, vehicles blocked the entrance to a property listed in public records as an address for Martin at the end of a private road in Cameron, North Carolina.

    Braeden Fields, Martin’s cousin, reacted with disbelief. He described Martin as quiet, afraid of guns and from a family of avid Trump supporters.

    “He’s a good kid,” Fields, 19, said. He said they grew up together. “I wouldn’t believe he would do something like this. It’s mind-blowing,” Fields said.

    He said Martin worked at a local golf course and would send money from each paycheck to charity.

    “He wouldn’t even hurt an ant. He doesn’t even know how to use a gun,” Fields said.

    He said his cousin didn’t discuss politics.

    “We are big Trump supporters, all of us. Everybody,” Fields said, but his cousin was “real quiet, never really talked about anything.”

    Trump faced two assassination attempts during his last campaign

    Sunday’s incursion at Mar-a-Lago took place a few miles from Trump’s West Palm Beach club where a man tried to assassinate him while he played golf during the 2024 campaign.

    A Secret Service agent spotted that man, Ryan Routh, aiming a rifle through the shrubbery before Trump came into view. Officials said Routh aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire and caused Routh to drop his weapon.

    Routh was found guilty last year and sentenced this month to life in prison.

    Trump also survived an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. That gunman fired eight shots before being killed by a Secret Service counter sniper. One rally attendee was killed by the gunman.

    White House brings in shutdown politics

    White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a post on X that “the United States Secret Service acted quickly and decisively to neutralize a crazy person, armed with a gun and a gas canister, who intruded President Trump’s home.”

    Leavitt used her post to blame Democratic lawmakers in Congress for the partial government shutdown affecting the Homeland Security Department, which began Feb. 14 after Democrats demanded changes to the president’s deportation campaign.

    The Secret Service is among the agencies where the vast majority of employees are continuing their work but missing a paycheck.

    “Federal law enforcement are working 24/7 to keep our country safe and protect all Americans,” Leavitt said. “It’s shameful and reckless that Democrats have chosen to shut down their Department.”

    The White House referred all questions to the Secret Service and FBI. Both Trump and his wife posted statements on social media after the incident, but they were unrelated to the shooting.

    Numerous recent acts of politically motivated violence

    In the past year, there was the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk; the assassination of the Democratic leader in the Minnesota state House and her husband and the shooting of another lawmaker and his wife; and an arson attack at the official residence of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.

    Five days ago, a Georgia man armed with a shotgun was arrested as he sprinted toward the west side of the U.S. Capitol. Trump is scheduled to deliver his State of the Union address there on Tuesday night.

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  • Armed man enters secure Mar-a-Lago perimeter, shot dead by Secret Service

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    An armed man drove into the secure perimeter of Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump’s resort in Palm Beach, Florida, before being shot and killed early Sunday morning, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Secret Service.Although Trump often spends weekends at his resort, he was at the White House when the breach occurred around 1:30 a.m.The man had a gas can and a shotgun, authorities said. Investigators identified him as 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin of North Carolina, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to discuss it publicly, and authorities said his family had recently reported him missing.He’s believed to have purchased his shotgun while driving south, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said, and a box for the weapon was later discovered in the man’s vehicle.Investigators have not identified a motive. However, Trump has faced threats to his life before, including two assassination attempts during the 2024 campaign. The investigation is ongoingThe man entered the north gate of the property as another vehicle was exiting and was confronted by two Secret Service agents and a Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputy, according to Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw.“He was ordered to drop those two pieces of equipment that he had with him. At which time he put down the gas can, raised the shotgun to a shooting position,” Bradshaw said at a brief press conference. The two agents and the deputy “fired their weapons to neutralize the threat.”The Moore County Sheriff’s Department in North Carolina said a relative of Martin’s reported him missing early Sunday morning.Investigators are working to compile a psychological profile. Asked whether the man was previously known to law enforcement, Bradshaw said “not right now.”The FBI encouraged residents who live near Mar-a-Lago to check any security cameras they may have for footage that could help investigators.In a post on X, FBI Director Kash Patel said the bureau would be “dedicating all necessary resources” to the investigation. Martin was described by family as quiet and averse to gunsOn Sunday afternoon, vehicles blocked the entrance to a property listed in public records as an address for Martin at the end of a private road in Cameron, North Carolina.Braeden Fields, Martin’s cousin, reacted with disbelief. He described Martin as quiet, afraid of guns and from a family of avid Trump supporters.“He’s a good kid,” Fields, 19, said. He said they grew up together. “I wouldn’t believe he would do something like this. It’s mind-blowing,” Fields said.He said Martin worked at a local golf course and would send money from each paycheck to charity.“He wouldn’t even hurt an ant. He doesn’t even know how to use a gun,” Fields said.He said his cousin didn’t discuss politics.“We are big Trump supporters, all of us. Everybody,” Fields said, but his cousin was “real quiet, never really talked about anything.”Trump faced two assassination attempts during his last campaignSunday’s incursion at Mar-a-Lago took place a few miles from Trump’s West Palm Beach club where a man tried to assassinate him while he played golf during the 2024 campaign.A Secret Service agent spotted that man, Ryan Routh, aiming a rifle through the shrubbery before Trump came into view. Officials said Routh aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire and caused Routh to drop his weapon.Routh was found guilty last year and sentenced this month to life in prison.Trump also survived an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. That gunman fired eight shots before being killed by a Secret Service counter sniper. One rally attendee was killed by the gunman.White House brings in shutdown politicsWhite House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a post on X that “the United States Secret Service acted quickly and decisively to neutralize a crazy person, armed with a gun and a gas canister, who intruded President Trump’s home.”Leavitt used her post to blame Democratic lawmakers in Congress for the partial government shutdown affecting the Homeland Security Department, which began Feb. 14 after Democrats demanded changes to the president’s deportation campaign.The Secret Service is among the agencies where the vast majority of employees are continuing their work but missing a paycheck.“Federal law enforcement are working 24/7 to keep our country safe and protect all Americans,” Leavitt said. “It’s shameful and reckless that Democrats have chosen to shut down their Department.”The White House referred all questions to the Secret Service and FBI. Both Trump and his wife posted statements on social media after the incident, but they were unrelated to the shooting.Numerous recent acts of politically motivated violenceIn the past year, there was the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk; the assassination of the Democratic leader in the Minnesota state House and her husband and the shooting of another lawmaker and his wife; and an arson attack at the official residence of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.Five days ago, a Georgia man armed with a shotgun was arrested as he sprinted toward the west side of the U.S. Capitol. Trump is scheduled to deliver his State of the Union address there on Tuesday night.

    WASHINGTON —

    An armed man drove into the secure perimeter of Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump’s resort in Palm Beach, Florida, before being shot and killed early Sunday morning, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Secret Service.

    Although Trump often spends weekends at his resort, he was at the White House when the breach occurred around 1:30 a.m.

    The man had a gas can and a shotgun, authorities said. Investigators identified him as 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin of North Carolina, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to discuss it publicly, and authorities said his family had recently reported him missing.

    He’s believed to have purchased his shotgun while driving south, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said, and a box for the weapon was later discovered in the man’s vehicle.

    Investigators have not identified a motive. However, Trump has faced threats to his life before, including two assassination attempts during the 2024 campaign.

    The investigation is ongoing

    The man entered the north gate of the property as another vehicle was exiting and was confronted by two Secret Service agents and a Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputy, according to Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw.

    “He was ordered to drop those two pieces of equipment that he had with him. At which time he put down the gas can, raised the shotgun to a shooting position,” Bradshaw said at a brief press conference. The two agents and the deputy “fired their weapons to neutralize the threat.”

    The Moore County Sheriff’s Department in North Carolina said a relative of Martin’s reported him missing early Sunday morning.

    Investigators are working to compile a psychological profile. Asked whether the man was previously known to law enforcement, Bradshaw said “not right now.”

    The FBI encouraged residents who live near Mar-a-Lago to check any security cameras they may have for footage that could help investigators.

    In a post on X, FBI Director Kash Patel said the bureau would be “dedicating all necessary resources” to the investigation.

    Martin was described by family as quiet and averse to guns

    On Sunday afternoon, vehicles blocked the entrance to a property listed in public records as an address for Martin at the end of a private road in Cameron, North Carolina.

    Braeden Fields, Martin’s cousin, reacted with disbelief. He described Martin as quiet, afraid of guns and from a family of avid Trump supporters.

    “He’s a good kid,” Fields, 19, said. He said they grew up together. “I wouldn’t believe he would do something like this. It’s mind-blowing,” Fields said.

    He said Martin worked at a local golf course and would send money from each paycheck to charity.

    “He wouldn’t even hurt an ant. He doesn’t even know how to use a gun,” Fields said.

    He said his cousin didn’t discuss politics.

    “We are big Trump supporters, all of us. Everybody,” Fields said, but his cousin was “real quiet, never really talked about anything.”

    Trump faced two assassination attempts during his last campaign

    Sunday’s incursion at Mar-a-Lago took place a few miles from Trump’s West Palm Beach club where a man tried to assassinate him while he played golf during the 2024 campaign.

    A Secret Service agent spotted that man, Ryan Routh, aiming a rifle through the shrubbery before Trump came into view. Officials said Routh aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire and caused Routh to drop his weapon.

    Routh was found guilty last year and sentenced this month to life in prison.

    Trump also survived an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. That gunman fired eight shots before being killed by a Secret Service counter sniper. One rally attendee was killed by the gunman.

    White House brings in shutdown politics

    White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a post on X that “the United States Secret Service acted quickly and decisively to neutralize a crazy person, armed with a gun and a gas canister, who intruded President Trump’s home.”

    Leavitt used her post to blame Democratic lawmakers in Congress for the partial government shutdown affecting the Homeland Security Department, which began Feb. 14 after Democrats demanded changes to the president’s deportation campaign.

    The Secret Service is among the agencies where the vast majority of employees are continuing their work but missing a paycheck.

    “Federal law enforcement are working 24/7 to keep our country safe and protect all Americans,” Leavitt said. “It’s shameful and reckless that Democrats have chosen to shut down their Department.”

    The White House referred all questions to the Secret Service and FBI. Both Trump and his wife posted statements on social media after the incident, but they were unrelated to the shooting.

    Numerous recent acts of politically motivated violence

    In the past year, there was the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk; the assassination of the Democratic leader in the Minnesota state House and her husband and the shooting of another lawmaker and his wife; and an arson attack at the official residence of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.

    Five days ago, a Georgia man armed with a shotgun was arrested as he sprinted toward the west side of the U.S. Capitol. Trump is scheduled to deliver his State of the Union address there on Tuesday night.

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  • Mar-a-Lago suspect Austin Tucker Martin was angry over Epstein files—report

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    The armed man who was shot and killed by Secret Service agents after entering the secured perimeter of President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Sunday morning was angry about the Jeffrey Epstein files, according to co-workers and a text message obtained by TMZ.

    The man, identified as 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin of North Carolina, sent a message to a co-worker on February 15 where he said “evil is real and unmistakable” while referring to the files, TMZ reported.

    He also wrote: ”The best people like you and I can do is use what little influence we have. Tell other people about what you hear about the Epstein files and what the government is doing about it. Raise awareness,” according to the message obtained by the outlet.

    According to TMZ, Martin’s co-workers at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club said he became fixated on Epstein after the Justice Department’s latest release of records from its investigative files on the late convicted sex offender. They said Martin, who TMZ reported was a Trump supporter, was disturbed by what he viewed as a government cover-up and regularly spoke about powerful people “getting away with it.”

    Newsweek has not independently verified the contents of the text message or the accounts provided by Martin’s co-workers to TMZ.

    Martin was confronted by two Secret Service agents and a Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputy near the north gate of the property holding what officials described as a shotgun and gas canister.

    Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said Martin was ordered to drop the items. He put down the gas canister but “raised the shotgun to a shooting position,” Bradshaw said at a brief press conference on Sunday.

    The two agents and the deputy “fired their weapons to neutralize the threat.”

    This is a developing story. More to follow.

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  • Moore County man, 21, killed by Secret Service agents at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach

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    A 21-year-old man from Carthage, North Carolina, was shot and killed Sunday by U.S. Secret Service agents at President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.

    The suspect was identified as Austin Tucker Martin, 21, the Associated Press reports, according to a person familiar with the matter who remained anonymous.

    According to the Moore County Sheriff’s Office, Martin was reported missing by family members in North Carolina. Officials told WRAL News the FBI was at Martin’s home in Carthage on Sunday afternoon.

    Anthony Guglielmi, a Secret Service spokesman, confirmed the suspect was armed with a shotgun and gas can when he drove through the north gate of Mar-a-Lago after 1 a.m. as another vehicle was exiting and was confronted by Secret Service agents.

    Investigators believe the suspect left North Carolina and headed south, picking up a shotgun along the way, Guglielmi said.

    According to the Associated Press, Braeden Fields, Martin’s cousin, reacted with disbelief. He described Martin as quiet, afraid of guns and from a family of avid Trump supporters.

    “He’s a good kid,” Fields, 19, said. He said they grew up together. “I wouldn’t believe he would do something like this. It’s mind-blowing,” Fields said.

    He said Martin worked at a local golf course and would send money from each paycheck to charity.

    “He wouldn’t even hurt an ant. He doesn’t even know how to use a gun,” Fields said. He said his cousin didn’t discuss politics. “We are big Trump supporters, all of us. Everybody,” Fields said, but his cousin was “real quiet, never really talked about anything.”

    Trump, who often spends weekends at the resort, and first lady Melania Trump, were both at the White House at the time of the shooting. The motive is still under investigation. 

    Palm Beach County Sheriff Rick Bradshaw, speaking at a brief press conference, said the man was confronted by two Secret Service agents and a sheriff’s deputy.

    “He was ordered to drop those two pieces of equipment that he had with them. At which time he put down the gas can, raised the shotgun to a shooting position,” Bradshaw said. The two agents and the deputy “fired their weapons to neutralize the threat.”

    It’s not the first time threats to Trump’s life have been tied to a suspect from North Carolina. In September 2024, Ryan Routh, from Greensboro, was captured after trying to assassinate Trump on a Florida golf course near Mar-a-Lago. Routh was sentenced to life in prison earlier this month. 

    Trump was also wounded during an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024.

    After Sunday’s shooting, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a post on X:

    “In the middle of the night while most Americans were asleep, the United States Secret Service acted quickly and decisively to neutralize a crazy person, armed with a gun and a gas canister, who intruded President Trump’s home. Federal law enforcement are working 24/7 to keep our country safe and protect all Americans. It’s shameful and reckless that Democrats have chosen to shut down their Department.”

    FBI asks neighbors for help

    The FBI asked area residents who live near Mar-a-Lago to check any security cameras they may have for footage that could help investigators.

    FBI Director Kash Patel said in post on X that the bureau would be “dedicating all necessary resources” to the investigation.

    This story will be updated as more details emerge.

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  • The secret life of Mar-a-Lago: What’s inside Trump’s Palm Beach estate?

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    The White and Gold Ballroom at Mar-A-Lago is setup for Donald J. Trump’s Super Tuesday press conference at Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida on March 1, 2016.

    The White and Gold Ballroom at Mar-A-Lago is setup for Donald J. Trump’s Super Tuesday press conference at Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida on March 1, 2016.


    Allen Eyestone

    The Palm Beach Post

    Mar-a-Lago has made the news again with another security incident.

    Unless you’re on Trump’s guest list for a social affair, get invited as a dignitary or world leader, or pay for a private club membership (assuming you make the cut), the door is closed.

    This isn’t Vizcaya. That means, no public tours or a weekend cabana fee to use the pool or spa.

    Does that mean that whatever happens in Mar-a-Lago stays in Mar-a-Lago? Seems so. Unless people share video, such as the one of the then-president pretending to conduct an orchestra at a Super Bowl party. Or unless the FBI releases documents revealing details about its search.

    MORE: Mar-a-Lago has seen security issues through the years

    But even though you can’t get inside for a good look yourself, you can learn more about the mansion through its soap-opera-like history.

    Here are some things to know (including the number of bathrooms):

    Where is Mar-a-Lago?

    The Mar-a-Lago mansion is on South Ocean Boulevard in Palm Beach. The town sits between the Intracoastal, a body of water known in the area as Lake Worth Lagoon, and the Atlantic Ocean.

    The mansion and the town can be reached via several bridges from the much-larger and metropolitan city of West Palm Beach. “Mar-a-Lago” means sea to lake in Spanish. Palm Beach is best known as the home to millionaires and billionaries.

    Huge estates line the main road and a luxury shopping street, Worth Avenue, attracts people who can afford the shops and those who just want to window shop. Trump isn’t the first U.S. president to have a house in Palm Beach. President John Kennedy and his family also spent time at a mansion on the other end of the narrow town.

    When did Donald Trump buy Mar-a-Lago

    Trump, the real estate mogul, bought Mar-a-Lago in 1985 for about $10 million. His intention was to turn it into a private club, which he did about a decade later. He eventually moved into the mansion as a part-time resident. During his presidency, Trump declared himself a Florida man and made the mansion his primary residence.

    When was Mar-a-lago built? How many toilets?

    The 58-bedroom house was finished in 1927. after three years of construction. Oh, and it has 33 bathrooms.

    Is Mar-a-Lago open to the public?

    The mansion and club are private so there is no public access and no known tours. The best way to see it is by passing in a car, although the home and the grounds are set off from the main road. Supporters and protesters typically line one of the bridges across the Intracoastal to get their messages out because pedestrian access and parking are limited near the mansion.

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  • NC man with shotgun fatally shot by Secret Service at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort

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    An armed North Carolina man was shot and killed by law enforcement Sunday after driving into the secured perimeter of President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, authorities say.

    The man was in his early 20s and had a gas can and shotgun with him, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said in a news briefing Sunday morning.

    Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, who often spend weekends at Mar-a-Lago, were at the White House on Sunday, Secret Service officials said.

    A Moore County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson identified the man as Austin Tucker Martin, 21, of Cameron, North Carolina.

    Martin’s family had posted a flyer on social media Saturday in an attempt to find him. He was last seen around 8 p.m. Saturday, according to the flyer.

    The Moore County Sheriff’s Office said a relative of Martin’s approached a deputy at a local business around 1:38 a.m. Sunday to report Martin missing. Martin’s name was entered into a national missing person database, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

    Federal authorities also got in touch with the Moore County Sheriff’s Office, which turned over all information about the case to the federal agencies investigating the incident, the release said. Martin did not have any prior contact with the Moore County Sheriff’s Office, it said, and the agency is not involved in the federal investigation.

    The release directed all other questions to the FBI Miami Field Office and the U.S. Secret Service.

    Federal officials have said Martin entered the Mar-a-Lago grounds through the north gate around 1:30 a.m. Sunday. He was confronted by two Secret Service agents and a Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputy, Bradshaw said. They shot and killed Martin, he said.

    “He was ordered to drop those two pieces of equipment that he had with them. At which time, he put down the gas can, raised the shotgun to a shooting position,” Bradshaw said at a brief press conference. The agents and the deputy “fired their weapons and neutralized the threat.”

    President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were at the White House when a man was shot and killed Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, after driving into the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, Secret Service officials said.
    President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were at the White House when a man was shot and killed Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, after driving into the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, Secret Service officials said. © Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

    No motive yet for Martin, an artist

    Martin was a 2023 graduate of Union Pines High School, who registered to vote as unaffiliated in 2022, state records show. He was an illustrator, specializing in landscapes and works featuring golf courses, according to his Instagram page.

    His 23-year-old sister, Caitlin Martin, was killed in a 2023 car crash. According to her obituary, he is survived by his parents and a brother.

    Brandon Huneycutt, head golf professional at the Quail Ridge Golf Course in Sanford, said he briefly met Martin several months ago, when Martin asked if he could “go onto some of the holes to try to get a vision … before he drew it.” They gave him a golf cart, so he could help himself, Huneycutt said.

    “I guess he took pictures of them, and he went home and actually hand-drew the pictures. They’re pretty good pieces,” Huneycutt said. They still have framed photos of some of the drawings at the course, he said.

    Investigators think Martin picked up the shotgun as he headed south to Florida, according to Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesman for the U.S. Secret Service.

    A box for the weapon was found in the vehicle after the incident, he said.

    The agents have been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation, Guglielmi said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

    No law enforcement officers were injured, said Special Agent in Charge Rafael Barros, with the Secret Service’s Miami field office.

    The FBI is assisting with the investigation, officials said. No motive has been announced.

    Previous Trump assassination attempts

    Trump has faced threats before, including an assassination attempt during a July 2024 campaign stop in Butler, Pennsylvania. The gunman in that attempt was shot and killed.

    In September 2024, Ryan Wesley Routh, 59, was arrested in a second attempted assassination. Routh, a North Carolina native, was found hiding with what appeared to be an AK 47-style rifle in the shrubbery outside a fence at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida.

    He was sentenced Feb. 4 to life in prison.

    This story was originally published February 22, 2026 at 11:49 AM.

    Related Stories from Raleigh News & Observer

    Tammy Grubb

    The News & Observer

    Tammy Grubb has written about Orange County’s politics, people and government since 2010. She is a UNC-Chapel Hill alumna and has lived and worked in the Triangle for over 30 years.

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  • Armed man shot and killed after entering Mar-a-Lago secure perimeter, Secret Service says

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    An armed man was shot and killed Sunday morning after he entered the secure perimeter of President Trump’s private Florida residence and resort, Mar-a-Lago, and was confronted by U.S. Secret Service agents and a Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputy.

    The man killed was identified by investigators as 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin from North Carolina, according to a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation. Martin had been reported missing by his family a few days prior.

    Trump, who on Saturday night hosted the annual Governors Dinner at the White House, was not at Mar-a-Lago at the time of the incident.

    According to the Secret Service, law enforcement officers spotted a man in his early 20s with a shotgun and a fuel can by the north gate of Trump’s residence in Palm Beach, Fla., around 1:30 a.m.

    When a deputy from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and two Secret Service agents went to investigate, they ordered him to drop the items, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric L. Bradshaw said during a news conference Sunday morning.

    “He put down the gas can, raised the shotgun to a shooting position,” Bradshaw said. “At that point in time, the deputy and the two Secret Service agents fired their weapons and neutralized the threat.”

    The man was declared dead at the scene. Rafael Barros, special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s Miami field office, said no law enforcement agents were harmed in the incident.

    The FBI is leading the investigation.

    Brett Skiles, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Miami field office, said the Evidence Response Team is processing the scene and collecting evidence. He asked residents in the vicinity to check their exterior cameras and contact the FBI or the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office if they spot anything that looks suspicious or out of place.

    The officers involved were wearing body cameras, Bradshaw said.

    Asked whether the man was known to law enforcement before the incident, Bradshaw said, “Not right now.”

    The Secret Service said in a statement that it is working with the FBI and Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office to learn more about the deceased man’s background, actions and motive. The agents involved in the incident, it said, will be placed on routine administrative leave during the investigation “in accordance with agency policy.”

    Martin hailed from the small town of Cameron — a staunchly Republican area of central North Carolina.

    Around 7 a.m. Eastern time on Sunday, a woman who appeared to be the slain man’s mother, Melissa Martin, posted a note on Facebook. “Please share so we can find my boy,” she wrote.

    An hour later, she posted a missing person notice that described Martin as around 6 feet tall and driving a 2013 silver Volkswagen Tiguan. He was last heard from, the note said, at 7:51 p.m. Saturday.

    Melissa Martin did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

    Braeden Fields, Martin’s 19-year-old cousin, told the Associated Press that Martin came from a family of Trump supporters. He was quiet, he said, and afraid of guns.

    “I wouldn’t believe he would do something like this. It’s mind-blowing,” Fields said. “He wouldn’t even hurt an ant. He doesn’t even know how to use a gun.”

    Martin worked at a local golf course, Fields said. He also set up a small business — artwork company Fresh Sky Illustrations, which focused on “bringing to life the hopeful feeling of being on a golf course,” its website said, “by illustrating golf course scenes and providing framed copies of handmade works in various golf course gift shops.”

    The incident at Mar-a-Lago comes amid a wave of violence against political figures — one that spans the ideological spectrum.

    Trump himself has been the target — most notably in July 2024, when he survived an assassination attempt during an outdoor campaign rally in Butler, Pa. A few months later, a man with a rifle was arrested by Secret Service agents as he was spotted hiding amid shrubs near Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course.

    In an interview Sunday with Fox News, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent blamed left-wing rhetoric — “venom coming from the other side” — for inspiring political violence against Trump. He cited a newly released U.S. Senate campaign ad by Illinois Democratic Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, in which a series of people say “F— Trump,” and called for the ad to be taken down.

    “We don’t know whether this person was a mastermind, unhinged or what,” he told Maria Bartiromo on “Sunday Morning Futures,” referencing the Mar-a-Lago intruder with a gun. “But they are normalizing this violence. It’s got to stop.”

    In September of last year, conservative activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot during a campus debate hosted by his Turning Point USA organization at Utah Valley University.

    But Democrats have also been attacked and, in some cases, killed. In June 2025, a man posing as a police officer fatally shot Minnesota state House Democratic leader Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and wounded another Democratic lawmaker, state Sen. John Hoffman, and his wife, Yvette, at their residence.

    In April 2024, an armed man set fire to the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion, forcing Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family to flee during the Jewish holiday of Passover.

    On Jan. 6, 2021, a violent mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, some threatening to kill Republican Vice President Mike Pence and Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in an attempt to stop Congress’ certification of Joe Biden’s presidential election victory.

    Trump did not comment publicly on the incident Sunday morning. After 11 a.m. Eastern time, the president posted comments on social media about the U.S. men’s hockey team’s win at the Winter Olympics.

    White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, meanwhile, praised the Secret Service for its speedy work.

    “In the middle of the night while most Americans were asleep, the United States Secret Service acted quickly and decisively to neutralize a crazy person, armed with a gun and a gas canister, who intruded President Trump’s home,” Leavitt wrote in a statement on X. “Federal law enforcement are working 24/7 to keep our country safe and protect all Americans.”

    FBI Director Kash Patel said in a short statement that the agency is dedicating “all necessary resources” to the investigation and will continue working closely with the Secret Service as well as state and federal partners.

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    Jenny Jarvie

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  • Armed intruder killed at President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, authorities say

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    The U.S. Secret Service said their agents and a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office deputy shot a man by the north gate of the Mar-a-Lago club who had a shotgun and fuel can.

    The U.S. Secret Service said their agents and a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office deputy shot a man by the north gate of the Mar-a-Lago club who had a shotgun and fuel can.


    Steve Helber

    AP

    An armed man who got onto the property of President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach was shot dead overnight by U.S. Secret Service agents and a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office deputy, the agencies said.

    A federal source familiar with the investigation identified the man as Austin Tucker Martin, a 21-year-old from North Carolina.

    Rafael Barros, special agent in charge of the Secret Service in Florida, said President Trump wasn’t at Mar-a-Lago. According to the White House’s weekend schedule, the president remained in Washington this weekend.

    The shooting happened around 1:30 a.m., Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said, when two Secret Service agents and a sheriff’s deputy discovered a man in his early 20s was just inside Mar-a-Lago’s front gate carrying a gas can and a shotgun.

    “The only words we said to him were, ‘Drop the items,’ which means the gas can and the shotgun,” Bradshaw said during a Sunday morning news conference. “He put the gas can down and pointed the shotgun at the officers.”

    The agents and deputy fired, Bradshaw said. The suspect was dead at the scene.

    Bradshaw said he didn’t know how many shots were fired or whether the shotgun was loaded. He did say the deputy was wearing a bodycam.

    No motive was given for Sunday’s suspect, who joins a growing list of Mar-a-Lago intruders since Trump first took office in January 2017. Businesswoman Yujing Zhang got deported to her native China after a trespass conviction and eight months in federal prison. Anthony Reyes came over a Mar-a-Lago outer wall in June, police said, for the purpose of proposing to Kai Trump, granddaughter of the president and daughter of Donald Trump Jr.

    READ MORE: Trump’s Mar-a-Lago has seen security issues through the years. Here’s a rundown

    Earlier this month, Ryan Wesley Routh was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of an assassination attempt in September 2024 at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach.

    The FBI is leading the investigation into all aspects of the shooting — the suspect’s background, the trespass and the shooting — with Secret Service and PBSO backup. The Secret Service agents will be put on administrative leave during the investigation, as is standard.

    FBI Special Agent in Charge Brett Skiles asked any neighbors with surveillance video showing anything that “looks suspicious or out of place” to contact the FBI at 800-225-5324 or PBSO.

    This story was originally published February 22, 2026 at 8:30 AM.

    David J. Neal

    Miami Herald

    Since 1989, David J. Neal’s domain at the Miami Herald has expanded to include writing about Panthers (NHL and FIU), Dolphins, old school animation, food safety, fraud, naughty lawyers, bad doctors and all manner of breaking news. He drinks coladas whole. He does not work Indianapolis 500 Race Day.

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    David J. Neal,Jay Weaver

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  • Interactive photos show how the White House has changed in President Trump’s second term

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    Every president who moves into the White House puts individual touches on the decor to some extent, maybe none more than President Donald Trump during the first year of his second term.Some of the changes can be easily seen from the streets surrounding the executive mansion, while others can only be seen in photos.The Get the Facts Data Team built the following interactive photos, where you can see some of the most notable changes for yourself. East Wing demolitionStarting outside with arguably the most controversial of the renovations is the East Wing demolition. The interactive photo below shows the changes. On the left, you see the view from the Washington Monument in September 2024, and on the right, you’ll see the large construction site. The highly-publicized and discussed East Wing project started in September. The White House said it’s projected to be complete “well before the President’s term.” New flags installedTwo large, 88-foot flagpoles were installed at the president’s direction on both sides of the White House.Oval Office gets golden makeover Inside the White House, the president has made a lot of changes. It’s common for each president to re-paint and change up the furniture and portraits.The area in front of the fireplace, where presidents usually sit with other world leaders, is now adorned with more decorations with a golden flair.The doors that lead outside from the Oval Office also have gold accents. There’s also a new large sign next to the door, similar to other signs around the White House. The president’s Cabinet Room has been similarly remodeled to feature more gold accents.West Wing walk undergoes changesThe West Colonnade, which is an outdoor corridor to get from the residence to the West Wing, has gold accents and a presidential walk of fame, featuring portraits of all past presidents. The president has received criticism for the plaques of former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden because they promote disinformation about their administrations. A new look for the Rose GardenThe Rose Garden has been transformed into an outdoor patio with tables and umbrellas that are inspired by the president’s Mar-a-Lago resort.

    WASHINGTON —

    Every president who moves into the White House puts individual touches on the decor to some extent, maybe none more than President Donald Trump during the first year of his second term.

    Some of the changes can be easily seen from the streets surrounding the executive mansion, while others can only be seen in photos.

    The Get the Facts Data Team built the following interactive photos, where you can see some of the most notable changes for yourself.

    East Wing demolition

    Starting outside with arguably the most controversial of the renovations is the East Wing demolition. The interactive photo below shows the changes. On the left, you see the view from the Washington Monument in September 2024, and on the right, you’ll see the large construction site.

    The highly-publicized and discussed East Wing project started in September. The White House said it’s projected to be complete “well before the President’s term.”

    New flags installed

    Two large, 88-foot flagpoles were installed at the president’s direction on both sides of the White House.

    Oval Office gets golden makeover

    Inside the White House, the president has made a lot of changes. It’s common for each president to re-paint and change up the furniture and portraits.

    The area in front of the fireplace, where presidents usually sit with other world leaders, is now adorned with more decorations with a golden flair.

    The doors that lead outside from the Oval Office also have gold accents. There’s also a new large sign next to the door, similar to other signs around the White House.

    The president’s Cabinet Room has been similarly remodeled to feature more gold accents.

    West Wing walk undergoes changes

    The West Colonnade, which is an outdoor corridor to get from the residence to the West Wing, has gold accents and a presidential walk of fame, featuring portraits of all past presidents.

    The president has received criticism for the plaques of former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden because they promote disinformation about their administrations.

    A new look for the Rose Garden

    The Rose Garden has been transformed into an outdoor patio with tables and umbrellas that are inspired by the president’s Mar-a-Lago resort.

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  • Trump says they’ve “got to make a deal” over Russia-Ukraine war ahead of Zelenskyy meeting

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    President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are meeting at Mar-a-Lago on Sunday as they work toward a peace plan for Russia and Ukraine. Mr. Trump confirmed that he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of the meeting. CBS News’ Jericka Duncan reports.

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  • Donald Trump Jr. Is Engaged (Again). Will Bettina Anderson Get a White House Wedding?

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    As the father of the groom looked on in the background, Don Jr. took the microphone, thanking Anderson, standing to his right in a strapless red dress with a stone twinkling on her ring finger, for “that one word: yes.”

    “When you’re down there and you’re gonna go, and you’re trying to ask, and you’re not sure what the answer’s gonna be, it’s always a little bit rough,” he said of the proposal. “But she said yes, so that’s a big win for the end of the year.”

    This is the third time Don Jr. has gotten engaged, which explains that “always” he dropped. Trump was previously engaged, then married to Vanessa Trump, who has been romantically linked to golf star Tiger Woods since early this year, and before Anderson, was engaged to Kimberly Guilfoyle, whose relationship with Trump ended about the same time as her ambassadorship to Greece was announced and Anderson and Trump’s relationship became public. Are those last things connected? Who could even begin to say!

    The engagement could be seen as a belated birthday present to Anderson, who turned 39 on December 1, or one heck of an early Christmas stocking stuffer.

    Or, hey, maybe there’s something in the air: Earlier Monday, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who recently announced that she will resign from her position in January following disagreements with the president, shared that she is also engaged to be married, in her case to journalist Brian Glenn of Real America’s Voice.

    The White House, when contacted by Vanity Fair for comment on the presidential offspring’s latest betrothal, referred us to Don Jr.’s representative. As of the publication of this article, that spokesperson did not respond to the request for comment.

    Anderson also said a few words to the assembled well-wishers at the White House Monday, where her experience as a benefit host, welcoming and thanking attendees and sponsors, was apparent.

    “Wow, what a privilege it is to be here in the White House, Mr. President,” she said. “To our first lady—these decorations! Am I right? Are they unbelievable? This has really been the most unforgettable weekend of my life and I get to marry the love of my life, and I feel just like the luckiest girl in the world.”

    Those “unbelievable” Christmas decorations masterminded by Melania Trump include a Lego recreation of her husband’s mugshot alongside one of George Washington’s presidential portraits, as well as topple-ready structures made of dominoes and playing cards. It’s an about-face from the chilling blood-red trees of yesteryear, though no update has been publicly offered on whether she now “gives a fuck about Christmas stuff and decorations” as she said in 2018.

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    Kase Wickman

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  • Trump celebrating Thanksgiving at Mar-a-Lago

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    President Trump is spending Thanksgiving at his Florida estate Mar-a-Lago with his wife Melania. 

    Mr. Trump played golf in the morning, and he and the first lady plan to call service members. 

    Mr. Trump and Melania participated in the annual turkey pardoning at the White House on Tuesday, giving Waddle and Gobble a “full and unconditional pardon,” before heading off for the holiday. 

    On Wednesday night, two members of the National Guard were shot near the White House. The victims have been identified as members of the West Virginia National Guard, Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Pfc. Andrew Wolfe, 24. Both had been stationed in D.C. since August, and had been deputized to maintain their status to conduct presence patrols less than 24 hours earlier. 

    President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive on Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport, Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025, in West Palm Beach, Fla.

    Alex Brandon / AP


    Both Beckstorm and Wolfe are in critical condition, authorities said.

    The suspect in the shooting has been identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national who authorities said was paroled into the U.S. on Sept. 8, 2021, under a Biden-era program for Afghan nationals called Operation Allies Welcome. The CIA confirmed Thursday that Lakanwal had worked with the CIA in Afghanistan. 

    The suspect was shot by another Guard member and taken into custody, authorities said. Officials said Thursday that he had driven from Washington state to carry out the attack. 

    Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Wednesday that an additional 500 members of the National Guard to D.C., joining the roughly 2,200 troops who were deployed in D.C. as of Sunday morning. 

    Mr. Trump posted a video on social media on Wednesday night addressing the shooting, calling it an “act of evil and an act of hatred and an act of terror. It was a crime against our entire nation. It was a crime against humanity.” 

    Mr. Trump also noted that the suspect had come to the U.S. under the Biden-era program, vowed to “reexamine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden, and we must take all necessary measures to ensure the removal of any alien from any country who does not belong here, or add benefit to our country.”

    “No country can tolerate such a risk to our country,” Mr. Trump added, while pivoting to discussing Somali immigrants in Minnesota. 

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  • Video: Epstein’s Emails About Trump

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    new video loaded: Epstein’s Emails About Trump

    Our investigative reporter Steve Eder provides context about Jeffrey Epstein’s relationship with President Donald Trump based on information from over 20,000 pages of documents from Epstein’s estate released by the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday.

    By Steve Eder, Claire Hogan, James Surdam, Stephanie Swart and Nikolay Nikolov

    November 13, 2025

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    Steve Eder, Claire Hogan, James Surdam, Stephanie Swart and Nikolay Nikolov

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  • Video: Trump Is Seeking $230 Million From the Justice Dept.

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    new video loaded: Trump Is Seeking $230 Million From the Justice Dept.

    President Trump is demanding about $230 million in compensation for the federal investigations into him by the Justice Department. Devlin Barrett, a New York Times reporter covering the Justice Department, describes what we know about who’s most likely to be making the decisions.

    By Devlin Barrett, Melanie Bencosme, Laura Salaberry, James Surdam, Zach Wood and Jon Hazell

    October 22, 2025

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    Devlin Barrett, Melanie Bencosme, Laura Salaberry, James Surdam, Zach Wood and Jon Hazell

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  • ‘Suspicious stand’ found near Trump’s Air Force One exit at Palm Beach airport: FBI

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    FILE - In 2023, Donald Trump’s private plane takes off from Palm Beach International Airport.

    FILE – In 2023, Donald Trump’s private plane takes off from Palm Beach International Airport.


    Jose A. Iglesias

    jiglesias@elnuevoherald.com

    The Secret Service found what officials are calling a “suspicious stand” near a part of Palm Beach International Airport frequented by President Donald Trump.

    FBI Director Kash Patel said on a post on X that agents are investigating the stand. Patel said the stand was located near the Air Force One landing zone.

    According to CBS News, the Secret Service said it found “items of interest” before Trump’s arrival on Friday. The agency, the report says, did not detail what was found but shared a photo of a platform in a tree.

    A “suspicious stand” was found near a part of Palm Beach International Airport frequented by President Donald Trump.
    A “suspicious stand” was found near a part of Palm Beach International Airport frequented by President Donald Trump. Secret Service

    “There was no impact to any movements and no individuals were present or involved at the location,” Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said.

    Trump traveled to South Florida for the weekend, according to CBS News. Trump’s mansion and resort Mar-a-Lago is in West Palm Beach.

    This story was originally published October 19, 2025 at 4:37 PM.

    Grethel Aguila

    Miami Herald

    Grethel covers courts and the criminal justice system for the Miami Herald. She graduated from the University of Florida (Go Gators!), speaks Spanish and Arabic and loves animals, traveling, basketball and good storytelling. Grethel also attends law school part time.

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    Grethel Aguila

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  • Trump attends the US Open as Rolex’s guest despite Swiss tariffs. Mixed cheers and boos greet him

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    President Donald Trump attended the U.S. Open on Sunday and briefly stepped out from a luxury box to wave at a main court crowd mostly still arriving for the men’s final. He drew mixed cheers and boos.Arthur Ashe stadium was only partially full and Trump’s waves weren’t announced beforehand. They were also brief enough so that some of those in attendance didn’t notice them.The president attended as a guest of Rolex despite imposing steep tariffs on the Swiss watchmaker’s home country, and organizers were seeking to keep booing of him from being seen on the TV broadcast.Trump has built the bulk of his second term’s domestic travel around attending major sports events rather than hitting the road to make policy announcements or address the kind of large rallies he so relished as a candidate.Because of extra security screening, the final between second-seeded Carlos Alcaraz, a 22-year-old Spaniard, and No. 1 seed and defending champion Jannik Sinner, 24, of Italy, was pushed back half an hour — meaning Trump arrived more than 45 minutes before the new start time. The president was watching from Rolex’s suite, and his acceptance of Rolex’s invitation comes mere weeks after the Trump administration imposed a whopping 39% tariff on Swiss products.The levy is more than 2 1/2 times higher than the one the Trump administration agreed to for European Union goods exported to the U.S. and nearly four times higher than on British exports to the U.S. It has raised questions about Switzerland’s ability to compete with the 27-member bloc that it neighbors.The White House declined to comment on Trump accepting a corporate client’s invitation at the tournament, but the president has had few qualms about blurring lines between political and foreign policy decisions and efforts to boost the profits of his family business.That includes tirelessly promoting cryptocurrency interests and luxury golf properties around the country and the world that bear his name. He announced Friday that the U.S. will use its turn hosting the Group of 20 summit in December 2026 to stage the sweeping event at Trump National Doral in South Florida.Any negative reaction to Trump’s presence won’t be shown on ABC’s national telecast, per standard policy, the U.S. Tennis Association says.”We regularly ask our broadcasters to refrain from showcasing off-court disruptions,” the organization said in a statement.As heavy rains began mostly clearing, and throngs of fans arrived for the match, no major street protests against the president could be seen from the touranment’s main stadium. Attendees also steered clear of wearing any of the president’s signature “Make America Great Again” caps, though.A 58-year tennis fan originally from Turin, Italy, came from her home in the Boston area to watch the final and said that when she bought a U.S. Open cap, she went with a fuchsia-hued one so it wouldn’t be mistaken for the signature darker color of MAGA hats.”I was careful not to get the red one,” said the fan, who declined to give her name because of her employer’s rules about being publicly quoted.Attending with Trump were White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, special administration envoy Steve Witkoff and Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff.Elsewhere in the crowd were a slew of celebrities — some of whom publicly backed then-Vice President Kamala Harris during last year’s election against Trump. Among them were Pink, Bruce Springsteen, Shonda Rhimes, Michael J. Fox, Sting, Shaggy, Ben Stiller and Courtney Cox.Trump came back to the press cabin on Air Force One during the flight to New York to note that the plane would be flying over Ashe stadium, but didn’t offer any further comment.Trump was once a U.S. Open mainstay, but hasn’t attended since he was loudly booed at a quarterfinals match in September 2015, months after launching his first presidential campaign.The Trump Organization once controlled its own U.S. Open suite, which was adjacent to the stadium’s television broadcasting booth, but suspended it in 2017, during the first year of Trump’s first term. The family business is now being run by Trump’s sons with their father back in the White House.Trump was born in Queens, home of the U.S. Open, and for decades was a New York-area real estate mogul and, later, a reality TV star. Attending the tournament before he was a politician, he usually sat in the suite’s balcony during night matches and was frequently shown on the arena’s video screens.In recent years, however, including between his presidential terms, Trump primarily lived at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago.Alcaraz said before the final that having Trump on-hand would be a privilege and “great for tennis,” but also suggested that such sentiment went for any president watching from the stands. “I don’t want myself to be nervous because of it,” he said.The president has also frequently attended sporting events — where the roar of the crowd sometimes features people booing him while others cheer him.Since returning to the White House in January and prior to Sunday’s U.S Open swing, Trump went to the Super Bowl in New Orleans and the Daytona 500, as well as UFC fights in Miami and Newark, New Jersey, the NCAA wrestling championships in Philadelphia and the FIFA Club World Cup final in East Rutherford, New Jersey.Having a sitting president attend the U.S. Open hasn’t happened since Bill Clinton went to the 2000 tournament, though former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, attended the event’s opening night in 2023.___Associated Press writer Brian Mahoney contributed to this report.

    President Donald Trump attended the U.S. Open on Sunday and briefly stepped out from a luxury box to wave at a main court crowd mostly still arriving for the men’s final. He drew mixed cheers and boos.

    Arthur Ashe stadium was only partially full and Trump’s waves weren’t announced beforehand. They were also brief enough so that some of those in attendance didn’t notice them.

    The president attended as a guest of Rolex despite imposing steep tariffs on the Swiss watchmaker’s home country, and organizers were seeking to keep booing of him from being seen on the TV broadcast.

    Trump has built the bulk of his second term’s domestic travel around attending major sports events rather than hitting the road to make policy announcements or address the kind of large rallies he so relished as a candidate.

    Because of extra security screening, the final between second-seeded Carlos Alcaraz, a 22-year-old Spaniard, and No. 1 seed and defending champion Jannik Sinner, 24, of Italy, was pushed back half an hour — meaning Trump arrived more than 45 minutes before the new start time. The president was watching from Rolex’s suite, and his acceptance of Rolex’s invitation comes mere weeks after the Trump administration imposed a whopping 39% tariff on Swiss products.

    The levy is more than 2 1/2 times higher than the one the Trump administration agreed to for European Union goods exported to the U.S. and nearly four times higher than on British exports to the U.S. It has raised questions about Switzerland’s ability to compete with the 27-member bloc that it neighbors.

    The White House declined to comment on Trump accepting a corporate client’s invitation at the tournament, but the president has had few qualms about blurring lines between political and foreign policy decisions and efforts to boost the profits of his family business.

    That includes tirelessly promoting cryptocurrency interests and luxury golf properties around the country and the world that bear his name. He announced Friday that the U.S. will use its turn hosting the Group of 20 summit in December 2026 to stage the sweeping event at Trump National Doral in South Florida.

    Any negative reaction to Trump’s presence won’t be shown on ABC’s national telecast, per standard policy, the U.S. Tennis Association says.

    “We regularly ask our broadcasters to refrain from showcasing off-court disruptions,” the organization said in a statement.

    As heavy rains began mostly clearing, and throngs of fans arrived for the match, no major street protests against the president could be seen from the touranment’s main stadium. Attendees also steered clear of wearing any of the president’s signature “Make America Great Again” caps, though.

    A 58-year tennis fan originally from Turin, Italy, came from her home in the Boston area to watch the final and said that when she bought a U.S. Open cap, she went with a fuchsia-hued one so it wouldn’t be mistaken for the signature darker color of MAGA hats.

    “I was careful not to get the red one,” said the fan, who declined to give her name because of her employer’s rules about being publicly quoted.

    Attending with Trump were White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, special administration envoy Steve Witkoff and Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff.

    Elsewhere in the crowd were a slew of celebrities — some of whom publicly backed then-Vice President Kamala Harris during last year’s election against Trump. Among them were Pink, Bruce Springsteen, Shonda Rhimes, Michael J. Fox, Sting, Shaggy, Ben Stiller and Courtney Cox.

    Trump came back to the press cabin on Air Force One during the flight to New York to note that the plane would be flying over Ashe stadium, but didn’t offer any further comment.

    Trump was once a U.S. Open mainstay, but hasn’t attended since he was loudly booed at a quarterfinals match in September 2015, months after launching his first presidential campaign.

    The Trump Organization once controlled its own U.S. Open suite, which was adjacent to the stadium’s television broadcasting booth, but suspended it in 2017, during the first year of Trump’s first term. The family business is now being run by Trump’s sons with their father back in the White House.

    Trump was born in Queens, home of the U.S. Open, and for decades was a New York-area real estate mogul and, later, a reality TV star. Attending the tournament before he was a politician, he usually sat in the suite’s balcony during night matches and was frequently shown on the arena’s video screens.

    In recent years, however, including between his presidential terms, Trump primarily lived at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago.

    Alcaraz said before the final that having Trump on-hand would be a privilege and “great for tennis,” but also suggested that such sentiment went for any president watching from the stands. “I don’t want myself to be nervous because of it,” he said.

    The president has also frequently attended sporting events — where the roar of the crowd sometimes features people booing him while others cheer him.

    Since returning to the White House in January and prior to Sunday’s U.S Open swing, Trump went to the Super Bowl in New Orleans and the Daytona 500, as well as UFC fights in Miami and Newark, New Jersey, the NCAA wrestling championships in Philadelphia and the FIFA Club World Cup final in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

    Having a sitting president attend the U.S. Open hasn’t happened since Bill Clinton went to the 2000 tournament, though former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, attended the event’s opening night in 2023.

    ___

    Associated Press writer Brian Mahoney contributed to this report.

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  • Trump emphasizes economy, immigration as top issues before 2024 elections

    Trump emphasizes economy, immigration as top issues before 2024 elections

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    Trump emphasizes economy, immigration as top issues before 2024 elections – CBS News


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    Former President Donald Trump delivered remarks at Mar-a-Lago focused on the economy, immigration and the U.S.-Mexico border as both presidential campaigns make last-minute efforts to court undecided voters. CBS News’ Manuel Bojorquez has more.

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  • The Woman Who Engineered Donald Trump’s Rise From the Ashes of 2020

    The Woman Who Engineered Donald Trump’s Rise From the Ashes of 2020

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    DeSantis told Trump and Stepien that he thought Wiles lied and leaked to the press.“Fair enough,” Stepien replied. “But you won, and so did Donald Trump in Florida in 2016.”

    Trump made the final decision. “We’re hiring Susie.” She was back in the fold by the beginning of July.

    The most immediate prospect for reasserting control over his party—which would also double as a test of rank-and-file fidelity to him and his MAGA movement—would be picking and choosing among the GOP candidates announcing for office in 2022 and issuing a battery of his trademark “complete and total” endorsements. But without any kind of process in place for Trump to make endorsements, he had already begun to endorse candidates haphazardly, doling out his support to Republicans that Donald Trump Jr. and some of his aides viewed as “squishy,” or not sufficiently MAGA, like Kansas senator Jerry Moran, who in their view had been too critical of Trump’s trade policies and was not sufficiently loyal.

    At the end of February, his closest remaining political advisers were summoned to Mar-a-Lago to start charting out how they would approach things like endorsements.

    It was a strange and empty time at Trump’s club. COVID-19 had scared off some of its members (the next month, the club would be temporarily shut down by an outbreak of the coronavirus). Other members had left after Trump’s 2020 loss and January 6, when it became clear to them the hefty membership fee was worthwhile only when Trump was in power. Being associated with someone who inspired a bloody attack on the Capitol didn’t have the same social clout as being associated with a president.

    The meeting was held in the empty tea room at Mar-a-Lago, a dining room just off the main living room. Trump’s former campaign managers, Brad Parscale and Bill Stepien; Justin Clark, a White House lawyer and deputy campaign manager; Dan Scavino; Jason Miller; and Corey Lewandowski sat in banquet chairs around a table with a white tablecloth. After working in the White House and on Trump’s 2020 campaign, they found the setup oddly informal.

    There was no set agenda. No one was in charge, and—unusual for Trumpworld—no one was angling to be. Trump wanted to be a political Godzilla, but at the moment he barely had the capacity to send out an email, let alone fundraise. Among the top priorities they discussed that afternoon was sorting out who was going to do mail, and some kind of process for making endorsements, so as to block people from pushing their friends on Trump. Word had already gotten back to Trump Jr. that Senator Lindsey Graham, Trump’s ally and golfing buddy, had been lobbying endorsements.

    For those who had worked for Trump since 2016, having clearly delineated roles and responsibilities was a novel concept—an exciting change of pace, actually.

    And even if not much came from the meeting beyond an online process for candidates to make endorsement requests and a weekly call, there was also the sense in the group that if Jared Kushner had run things in 2020, it was Donald Trump Jr. who was going to assume a larger role moving forward.

    Kushner and Trump’s son were both wealthy, Ivy League–educated men, born just three years apart, but they had very different views of the world. After Kushner he served as a top adviser to Trump in the White House, he and his wife, Trump’s daughter Ivanka, were eager to move on and reingratiate themselves with the jet-set New York crowd, while Trump Jr. looked forward to disappearing into the wilderness of Pennsylvania to hunt deer and was eager to make his own mark on the MAGA movement.

    Don Jr., as he was referred to, made clear that when it came to his dad’s political capital, they needed to be scrupulous: Unless Trump was getting something in return, or unless the candidate in question proved they were true believers or allies, Trump wasn’t going to give out his endorsement.

    One idea came from Andy Surabian, a Republican strategist who had worked on Trump’s 2016 campaign as war-room director under Steve Bannon and went on to work closely with Don Jr. He suggested that candidates answer a one-page questionnaire about their positions on issues like immigration and foreign policy, and whether they would endorse Trump if he ran again in 2024. Everyone loved the idea, and questions were drafted. But the idea was later scrapped by Trump himself.

    Trump’s small team of advisers also needed to figure out fundraising vehicles that could drop money into upcoming midterm races. Save America, a leadership PAC, was formed right after the election, and Trump planned to use that to pay for staff and political expenses. In addition to Save America, a new super PAC, Make America Great Again Action, was created to raise and spend an unlimited amount of money on advertising in upcoming midterms races.

    Trump had just announced his first endorsements—for Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary turned gubernatorial candidate in Arkansas, and for Moran in Kansas—but he was eager to start endorsing more and was hell-bent on upending the campaigns of the Republicans who supported his impeachment or he felt had crossed him in the 2020 election.

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    Meridith McGraw

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  • Newly released photos from FBI’s Mar-a-Lago search show Trump keepsakes alongside sensitive records

    Newly released photos from FBI’s Mar-a-Lago search show Trump keepsakes alongside sensitive records

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    Washington — Newly revealed photographs taken by the FBI during its August 2022 search of former President Donald Trump’s South Florida resort shed further light on how the former president kept keepsakes from his time in office alongside documents bearing classification markings.

    The photos, some of which had not been publicly released, were included as exhibits accompanying a Monday court filing from special counsel Jack Smith in the ongoing federal case against Trump in South Florida. Prosecutors have accused the former president of mishandling records containing the nation’s secrets after leaving the White House in January 2021 and obstructing the Justice Department’s investigation.

    Trump was charged with 40 counts, including the unlawful retention of national defense information, and has pleaded not guilty. His presidential campaign did not immediately return a request for comment on Smith’s latest filing.

    The filing from Smith’s office is in response to an effort by Trump to toss out the indictment and suppress all evidence seized during the court-authorized search of Mar-a-Lago. More than 100 documents bearing classified markings were recovered by the FBI in August 2022, and 21 of the records underlie counts of willful retention of national defense information that Trump is charged with. In all, federal investigators collected over 300 sensitive government records during their investigation into the former president. 

    Trump has argued that the FBI agents who executed the search warrant failed to maintain the order of the documents as they were found and did not take photos to show the sequence of records in each box containing them. 

    The special counsel acknowledged in a May 3 filing that there were some boxes where the documents were not in the same order as they were at the time of the FBI’s search. But prosecutors have contended the alterations were inconsequential to the underlying conduct Trump and his two codefendants are accused of and wrote “where precisely within a box a classified document was stored at Mar-a-Lago does not bear in any way” on the defendants’ ability to properly examine evidence. 

    Trump’s legal team has claimed that the failure to keep the documents intact and the order maintained violated his due process rights. They accused prosecutors of withholding information about the records’ sequence because it would undercut their claim that Trump knew classified documents were stored in the boxes alongside other personal items and willfully retained them after his presidency.

    Smith’s team, though, argued in his latest filing that there is no basis for throwing out the charges against Trump because of a disruption of the precise order of documents seized from Mar-a-Lago.

    “Trump personally chose to keep documents containing some of the nation’s most highly guarded secrets in cardboard boxes along with a collection of other personally chosen keepsakes of various sizes and shapes from his presidency,” prosecutors on the special counsel’s team said. 

    They accused the former president of maintaining the boxes containing sensitive material in a “haphazard manner” and said the FBI agents who conducted the search “did so professionally, thoroughly, and carefully under challenging circumstances.” Smith is separately seeking to bar Trump from making public statements that endanger law enforcement officers involved in the case. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who is presiding over proceedings, did not seem receptive to prosecutors’ arguments to modify the conditions of his release during a hearing on the matter Monday.

    See the photographs taken by the FBI during its search of Mar-a-Lago and included in Smith’s filing:

    A photo taken by Walt Nauta, an aide to Trump, included in a motion filed by special counsel Jack Smith on June 24, 2024, showing the contents of fallen boxes stored at Mar-a-Lago spilled on the floor.

    Justice Department


    screenshot-2024-06-25-at-12-02-31-pm.png
    A photo taken by Walt Nauta, an aide to Trump, included in a motion filed by special counsel Jack Smith on June 24, 2024, showing the contents of fallen boxes stored at Mar-a-Lago spilled on the floor.

    Justice Department


    The photos taken by Walt Nauta, an aide to Trump, in late December 2021 show boxes in a storage room at Mar-a-Lago that had fallen over, their contents spilled onto the floor. Nauta was also charged by Smith in the documents case and has pleaded not guilty. 

    screenshot-2024-06-25-at-11-40-27-am.png
    A photo taken by the FBI included in a motion filed by special counsel Jack Smith on June 24, 2024, showing stacks of boxes in the storage room at Mar-a-Lago. 

    Justice Department


    Prosecutors said that one of those fallen boxes, identified in court filings as A-35, contained a classified record that the FBI recovered during its August 2022 search. A photo taken by the FBI during the search shows stacks of boxes, including A-35, in the storage room at Mar-a-Lago, roughly eight months after Nauta sent a text message that included the images of the fallen boxes.

    Smith said in his filing that the classified record in box A-35 underlies Count 8 of the indictment, which describes the document as dated Oct. 4, 2019, and concerns “military capabilities of a foreign country.” The record has a “SECRET//REL TO USA, FVEY” classification marking, according to the indictment. FVEY is the Five Eyes intelligence alliance comprised of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the U.S. and the United Kingdom.

    screenshot-2024-06-25-at-11-45-54-am.png
    A photo taken by the FBI included in a motion filed by special counsel Jack Smith on June 24, 2024, showing cover sheets added by agents that replaced sensitive documents next to the boxes the records were found in.

    Justice Department


    screenshot-2024-06-25-at-11-45-42-am.png
    A photo taken by the FBI included in a motion filed by special counsel Jack Smith on June 24, 2024, showing cover sheets added by agents that replaced sensitive documents next to the boxes the records were found in.

    Justice Department


    During the search of Mar-a-Lago, a group of agents and members of the so-called Evidence Response Team reviewed the boxes from the storage room to look for any documents bearing classification markings that were subject to seizure, according to Smith’s team. If such a record was found, the team member removed it, separated it, recorded the box where it was located and replaced the sensitive document with a placeholder sheet, prosecutors explained in their filing.

    That placeholder sheet was a preprinted classified cover sheet, but after agents ran out of those cover sheets, they used blank pieces of paper with “handwritten annotations to identify the document,” according to Smith’s filing. 

    As part of the process, the Evidence Response Team took photos of the documents, with the cover sheets added by FBI agents, next to the box they were found in, prosecutors wrote. 

    screenshot-2024-06-25-at-11-52-33-am.png
    A photo taken by the FBI included in a motion filed by special counsel Jack Smith on June 24, 2024, showing a blue box located in the “45 Office,” which prosecutors said contained documents marked classified.

    Justice Department


    screenshot-2024-06-25-at-11-54-45-am.png
    A photo taken by the FBI included in a motion filed by special counsel Jack Smith on June 24, 2024, showing a blue box located in the “45 Office,” which prosecutors said contained documents marked classified.

    Justice Department


    screenshot-2024-06-25-at-11-55-05-am.png
    A photo taken by the FBI included in a motion filed by special counsel Jack Smith on June 24, 2024, showing a blue box located in the “45 Office,” which prosecutors said contained documents marked classified.

    Justice Department


    In addition to searching the storage room, the FBI also went through the “45 Office,” which consisted of an anteroom where staff had desks, the former president’s office, a closet attached to Trump’s office, and two bathrooms. 

    Agents with a filter team, which first looked for any material that might be deemed privileged, found in the closet a “blue, covered, leatherbound box full of various papers, including numerous newspapers, newspaper clippings, magazines, note cards of various sizes, presidential correspondence, empty folders, and loose cover sheets for classified information, as well as documents marked classified,” according to the special counsel’s filing. 

    The filter team member then alerted the case team, whose agents were investigating the case, that documents marked classified had been discovered in the box, and two agents went through it, the filing states. They found “numerous” documents with classified markings, some of which had classification cover sheets attached, as well as loose cover sheets, the special counsel’s team said.

    The FBI took photos of the blue box with its cover off, prosecutors wrote.

    screenshot-2024-06-25-at-11-56-29-am.png
    A photo taken by the FBI included in a motion filed by special counsel Jack Smith on June 24, 2024, showing the contents of boxes at Mar-a-Lago and classified cover sheets positioned alongside the boxes

    Justice Department


    screenshot-2024-06-25-at-11-56-41-am.png
    A photo taken by the FBI included in a motion filed by special counsel Jack Smith on June 24, 2024, showing the contents of boxes at Mar-a-Lago and classified cover sheets positioned alongside the boxes

    Justice Department


    screenshot-2024-06-25-at-11-56-53-am.png
    A photo taken by the FBI included in a motion filed by special counsel Jack Smith on June 24, 2024, showing the contents of boxes at Mar-a-Lago and classified cover sheets positioned alongside the boxes.

    Justice Department


    Smith and his team argued in his filing that the contents of the boxes belonged to Trump and no one else, and said agents going through them during the Mar-a-Lago search found keepsakes “valuable only to Trump.”

    Prosecutors wrote that the boxes “had no apparent organization whatsoever” and contained an array of items: clothing, picture frames, magazines, shoes, newspapers, newspaper clippings, greeting cards, binders, Christmas ornaments and correspondence. Photos taken by the FBI show the boxes and some of their contents to “provide a sense of the variety of items” in them, with classified cover sheets positioned alongside the boxes, according to Smith’s filing.

    Katrina Kaufman contributed to this report

    Melissa Quinn

    Melissa Quinn is a politics reporter for CBSNews.com. She has written for outlets including the Washington Examiner, Daily Signal and Alexandria Times. Melissa covers U.S. politics, with a focus on the Supreme Court and federal courts.

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