New White House correspondents’ dinner to honor officer

The White House Correspondents’ Association will honor Secret Service officer Victor Gonzales at its rescheduled annual dinner on Friday. Gonzales was struck in his protective vest while stopping a gunman who attempted to storm the original event in April. The suspect, who has pleaded not guilty, is accused of firing several shots outside the room where the dinner was being held before Secret Service agents arrested him. The gunman is accused of firing the bullet that struck Gonzales, according to the Department of Justice.

The correspondents’ association also planned to honor the staff of the Washington Hilton, where the original dinner was located. The staff continued to take care of guests in the aftermath, and kitchen workers preserved more than 2,000 unserved meals to donate to local homeless shelters, the association said.

President Donald Trump, who was among the guests at the original dinner, would attend the rescheduled event Friday and offer remarks, the correspondents’ association said.

What do we know about security plans for the dinner? The White House Correspondents’ Association said it would be a smaller gathering than the one in April. The event would include greatly increased security measures and new access procedures, the association said, without giving further details. The dinner will reportedly be held at the Waldorf Astoria hotel.

Secret Service Director Sean Curran did not greatly elaborate on the increased security measures at a Wednesday news conference. However, he said that the Secret Service conducts a new assessment every time they use a venue, and that metal detectors would be used again as part of the entry procedure. In his eyes, the system worked in April, as the gunman was quickly stopped more than a football field’s distance from the president, Curran said.

Dig deeper: Read Carolina Lumetta’s on-the-ground report of how events unfolded at the April dinner.