FBI investigates tree stand near presidential landing zone

TheFBI took over the investigation after Secret Service agents located the oddly placed stand—typically used by hunters—during a security sweep, Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino said during a Monday interview. The U.S. Secret Service first spotted a suspicious hunting stand mounted in a tree near the president’s Air Force One landing zone near Palm Beach International Airport, according to a Sunday statement from FBI Director Kash Patel. The director confirmed that agents were investigating but gave no further details.

What happens now? FBI agents were immediately dispatched to investigate, Bongino said. The stand was dismantled and flown to FBI labs where investigators planned to use forensic and digital tools to discover who mounted the stand there and why, he said. Trump’s son, Eric, released a Sunday statement praising the Secret Service’s work. A so-called hunting stand facing 200 yards away from the Air Force One stairs must have been for all the deer along Southern Boulevard, he quipped. 

Dig deeper: Read Lauren Canterberry’s report about a suspected assassin arrested outside Trump’s Palm Beach golf course.