Topline
The U.S. Secret Service said there has been a 40% increase in the number investigations it has opened into threats directed at the agency's protectees this year, a statement that comes just days before the rescheduled White House Correspondents' Association dinner, after the previous incident was interrupted by a shooting.
Secret Service officials warned of a 40% surge in the number of threats against protectees this year.
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Key Facts
In a briefing with multiple media outlets, Secret Service Director Sean Curran said the agency has initiated more than 10,000 investigations into threats against people the agency has been assigned to protect.
Curran said the threats are “off the charts†and the agency is operating under a “heightened level of threat environment right now.â€
Aside from a 40% increase in cases, the agency said mental-health-related interventions are not 10 times higher than the level they were during the same period in 2025.
The agency attributed the spike to multiple factors, including online threats, foreign threats, lone actors, ideological grievances and mental health-linked cases.
In the briefing, officials mentioned drones as another emerging threat vector—something a group of alleged plotters intended to use in their purportedly foiled effort to attack the White House UFC event last month.
What Do We Know About The Upcoming WHCA Dinner?
The rescheduled White House Correspondents' Association dinner is set to take place on Friday night with “significantly enhanced safety measures and new access procedures.†The dinner's venue has also been changed after the April attack from the Washington Hilton to the Waldorf Astoria—formerly known as the Trump International Hotel. Secret Service Deputy Director Matthew Quinn told reporters that they are not seeing Friday's event as a “redo of a dinner†but rather as a “presidential site with Cabinet members and other protectees there.†Quinn didn't specify additional measures that the Secret Service official may implement but highlighted threats against Trump from foreign actors, including Iran—amid the ongoing war.
Key Background
The White House Correspondents' Dinner in April ended abruptly after a gunman stormed a security checkpoint and exchanged fire with Secret Service agents. The president and other top cabinet officials were quickly whisked away from the venue and the event was called off before several speeches or awards were given. The gunman was subdued and captured and has since been identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen from California. The Justice Department has charged Allen with attempting to assassinate Trump, assaulting a Secret Service agent and other weapons charges. In his alleged manifesto, the gunman mocked the state of security at the event, writing there was “no damn security. Not in transport. Not in the hotel. Not in the event.â€
tangent
In a report released in January, the U.S. Capitol Police reported that the number of threats against lawmakers rose for the third consecutive year. The law enforcement agency said it opened 14,938 cases into “concerning statements, behaviors, and communications directed against Members of Congress, their families, staff, and the Capitol Complex.†This is a sharp increase from 9,474 such cases in 2024 and 8,008 in 2023.
