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A dramatic security scare unfolded at the White House correspondent's dinner in Washington, attended by Donald Trump, as an armed suspect reportedly breached security and charged toward a restricted area. Witnesses describe chaotic scenes, with law enforcement responding within seconds. However, serious questions are now being raised about how the suspect was able to bypass security checkpoints in the first place. LBC Washington Correspondent Simon Marks breaks down the events with James Hanson. Listen to the full show on the all-new LBC App: https://app.af.lbc.co.uk/btnc/thenewlbcapp #simonmarks #jameshanson #trump #trumpnews #donaldtrump #uspolitics #news #washington #usnews #security #whitehouse #LBC LBC is the home of live debate around news and current affairs in the UK. Join in the conversation and listen at https://www.lbc.co.uk/ Sign up to LBC’s weekly newsletter here: https://l-bc.co/signup
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And that was very unexpected, but incredibly acted upon by Secret Service and law enforcement
0:09
And this was an event dedicated to freedom of speech that was supposed to bring together
0:18
members of both parties with members of the press. And in a certain way, it did
0:22
because the fact that they just unified, I saw a room that was just totally unified
0:30
It was in one way very beautiful, a very beautiful thing to see
0:33
A man charged a security checkpoint armed with multiple weapons, and he was taken down by some very brave members
0:42
of Secret Service, and they acted very quickly. And I've just released
0:47
for purposes of transparency, clarity, I've ordered it to be put out. You probably have it by now
0:55
Put out on truth and put out on many of the platforms. A tape showing the violence of this thug that attacked our country
1:04
And also showing how quickly Secret Service and law enforcement acted on our country's behalf
1:11
Really did a great job. They're going to his apartment. I guess he lives in California
1:16
And he's a sick person, a very sick person. Look, Simon, good morning to you. What do you make of what we just heard from the president
1:22
Evening from here, James. First of all, let's talk about the tableau there in the White House briefing room
1:27
because it was extraordinary and indeed unprecedented. The president in the briefing room was flanked by the First Lady Melania Trump
1:38
by Vice President J.D. Vance, by Secretary of War, as the Trump administration refers to him, Pete Hegseth
1:45
by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, FBI Director Kash Patel, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche
1:52
Secretary of Homeland Security Mark Wayne Mullen. So it was the full cabinet, I mean, not the entire cabinet
2:02
but the full series of cabinet members that we know were attending that White House Correspondents Association dinner
2:10
that then made their way back to the White House. President Trump, of course, raced back to the White House by the Secret Service in a motorcade
2:19
There's an extraordinary photograph of Marco Rubio and his wife standing outside the front door to the White House
2:28
waiting for someone to let them in. So that gives you a sense of how hurried all of these arrangements were
2:35
I think it's very important to note that Melania Trump, and you heard the president right at the end there
2:42
give her an opportunity to speak, and she declined the invitation. Melania Trump
2:48
if you've seen the film documentary that she's made about her life as First Lady
2:54
in that film you will know how deeply concerned she is about security arrangements for events like
3:01
this. And so there's no question that the President a couple of times during that press
3:05
conference made it apparent that she had been deeply affected by the events of the evening
3:12
Shortly before he came out into the briefing room, the President on his own social media account released surveillance footage from inside the Hilton Hotel that is staggering
3:25
It is clear that when the suspect tried to gain entry to the secure area through which the attendees at the ballroom at the dinner had passed Everybody was already in the ballroom Everybody was inside The event was underway
3:43
So you see a shot of a handful of security officers with nothing to do because there was no one else
3:50
passing through the magnetometers. And suddenly, a man races through the magnetometer
3:59
charges past a handful of security personnel. I mean, with the speed of a greyhound
4:07
they then notice him, and they then pull their guns out from their holsters
4:13
draw their guns, and fire at him. But he absolutely was moving at a monumental rate of knots
4:21
The president confirming that one member of the security team was injured, was wearing a bulletproof vest, is going to be fine
4:30
The president says he has spoken to that security officer. Not sure if it's Secret Service or Washington police, but the president has spoken to him
4:39
He's going to make a full recovery. no one appears to have been injured other than that officer the suspect now being questioned
4:49
we know he's from california the president has made that announcement publicly there are
4:56
unconfirmed reports multiple reports on social media that he's a 31 year old from torrance in
5:02
california but we're not going to be able to confirm that until law enforcement provide his
5:07
identity. The president saying that the first thing he heard was a noise that he thought sounded
5:12
like a tray crashing to the floor, as it often does at events like the one that he was attending
5:18
tonight. But then it became apparent that shots had been fired and he was escorted off the stage
5:24
by the Secret Service. We've seen video of that, Secret Service agents coming onto the stage with
5:30
their guns drawn. He said we know he was taken to a holding room. The original desire on the part of
5:36
the president and indeed of the white house correspondents association was for the dinner to
5:41
go ahead he said i fought like hell to stay but at the end of the day law enforcement made it clear
5:48
that it was not going to be possible for that event to continue taking place tonight as their
5:53
investigation was getting underway uh the acting attorney general of the united states todd blanche
6:00
described the suspect as a coward. He said charges will be filed shortly relating to the
6:08
shooting, to possession of firearms. And we know that an address in California is being raided
6:13
for further evidence to see whether there are other charges that might be able to be brought
6:18
against him. The president on multiple occasions referred to the suspect as a whack job, said that
6:25
he is unaware whether this was a politically motivated attack. He said towards the end of
6:30
that press conference that he did not think it was tied to the war on Iran, and it's not going
6:36
to have any impact on his determination to win the war on Iran. So I think that what we learned
6:45
from that is obviously more detail of the drama that took place, but there are massive questions
6:52
now, James, being asked here about the security arrangements for this event. We heard the
6:58
president we heard the FBI director and we heard the acting attorney general paying tribute to the Secret Service and saying that everything was done exactly the way that it should be done Well that may be true about their reaction to the effort by the suspect to gain access to the ballroom
7:17
But as you heard in that press briefing, there are reports that he was able to assemble his weapon on site
7:25
And indeed, the president said that he was carrying multiple guns. and that ties in with reporting that we've been bringing you over the last 90 minutes here on LBC
7:37
that there are multiple people who attended the dinner saying that security was notably lax
7:45
The New York Times Washington correspondent Tyler Pager has taken to his newspaper's website
7:52
to say there was a heavy police presence outside the Washington Hilton
7:56
but no security screening required to enter the hotel. There were numerous pre-parties hosted on various floors of the hotel
8:06
as well as a red carpet. However, to enter the ballroom where the dinner was being held
8:13
all attendees were required to go through metal detectors and have any bags checked
8:18
And TSA agents were among those involved in the security checks. But the security checks were only taking place
8:25
for people who were already in the building and trying then to gain access to the ballroom
8:32
where the dinner was taking place. But you could get into the building and go anywhere else in the building
8:37
without security checks. And I can tell you from personal experience of that hotel
8:43
that is highly unusual. Normally, the magnetometers are all positioned in the hotel's driveway
8:51
You don't get into the building without going through a magnetometer. And the possibility that this gunman was even able to assemble a weapon on site
9:03
inside the hotel perimeter, inside the building, and only then attracted the attention of security agents, Secret Service and the rest
9:14
when he charged through the magnetometer at a rate of knots and attempted to race down the stairs into the ballroom
9:23
that raises massive questions about the security arrangements that were in place for this event
9:30
I know the president said he has full confidence in the Secret Service and believes that everything went down the way it was supposed to go down
9:38
but that is far from evident with regard to the broader security arrangements for this event
9:45
at a hotel with form. This is the same hotel where John Hinckley attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan
9:56
You also, of course, heard President Trump in that press briefing, as we thought he might
10:01
accentuate the need for his ballroom to be completed on the ground where the East Wing of the White House used to stand
10:10
because that way, he says, they can be absolutely sure of security
10:15
and they wouldn't have to go off and use a commercial hotel for a dinner of this size
10:20
And remember, he's also grumbled in the last 48 hours about the fact that the state dinner for the King and Queen is going to be held at the White House
10:30
but that the ballroom isn't available for it. So I think interesting that he made that point tonight as well It is staggering the apparent lack of security at this event given who was attending given we know that President Trump has faced assassination attempts in the past
10:45
And also, given some of the other people there, I mean, you mentioned Melania Trump and how we learned in that recent documentary
10:50
just how understandably concerned she is about potential threats to her life
10:55
and her husband's life. But also in attendance, Erica Kirk, was she not
10:59
The widow of the late Charlie Kirk, who of course was assassinated. Robert F. Kennedy, whose own father, was assassinated at an event in a hotel
11:08
So for a lot of the people attending, deeply alarming scenes. Absolutely. Well, I see Congressman Richie Torres of New York has taken to Twitter to say
11:17
no security screening was required to enter an event featuring the President of the United States
11:23
the Speaker of the House, Cabinet Secretaries and members of Congress, the failure of even the most basic security protocols, as inexplicable as it is inexcusable
11:37
demands an immediate investigation. So that's just one member of Congress already weighing in
11:43
I mean, again, from personal experience, and, you know, I've covered so many of these events
11:49
in so many circumstances where security is unbelievably tight, and certainly much tighter
11:57
than it was tonight at the Hilton Hotel. I mean, I cannot imagine
12:03
I mean, I can tell you that within the last three months, President Trump was at that hotel for a faith-based event
12:12
And I was on my way to work, and I passed that hotel every day on the way to work
12:17
as I head down Connecticut Avenue to get to my office, which is directly overlooking the White House
12:22
And there were only about 15 protesters outside the event on Connecticut Avenue
12:29
And police and Secret Service completely sealed the road off. And, you know, to put Connecticut Avenue into context
12:40
it's the main north-south thoroughfare that leads from the Maryland suburbs, north of Washington, D.C., directly down to the White House
12:49
So they closed it off because of the presence of 15 protesters
12:53
I ended up having to get out of the vehicle that I was travelling in and wait for clearance to walk down Connecticut Avenue to head towards the White House
13:02
And looking across at the hotel, I could see the magnetometers outside the hotel in the driveway
13:10
through which everyone had had to enter in order to attend that event
13:16
which was held in the same ballroom as the dinner was taking place tonight
13:22
So the idea that security for that event was tighter than security for this one seems extraordinary
13:29
It was raining here today. People were showing up in ball gowns and in all their finery
13:35
Maybe they decided to change the plan because they didn't want everybody getting drenched on their way into this very high profile
13:43
And it is worth also noting very controversial event here in Washington, D.C
13:49
But whatever the case, there's going to be a massive investigation demanded into why you could walk into the hotel and only go through security if your ultimate goal was to get to the ballroom where the dinner was taking place
14:06
That is definitely not standard security protocol for an event like this
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