Washington, April 26, (dpa/GNA) – Guests invited to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington, have queried the security arrangements taken at the high-profile event, particularly as a previous president was shot and injured outside the same hotel in 1981.
Security camera footage shows a man storming the Secret Service security cordon, shortly after the dinner began. Officers immediately drew their weapons and pointed them at the intruder on Saturday night.
US President Donald Trump posted the brief clip on his Truth Social platform himself.
Questions are now being asked about how a heavily armed man, who had two firearms and knives on his person, could get as close as this to an event hosting the US president.
Guests subsequently reported that presentation of an official invitation to the event had been sufficient to gain access to the Washington Hilton, where the gala dinner was being held. Personal ID was not required.
MAGA activist Kari Lake confirmed this. “I can’t believe how lax the security was at the White House correspondents dinner tonight. Upon entering nobody asked to visibly INSPECT my ticket nor asked for my photo identification,” she posted on X.
“All one had to do was flash what appeared to be a ticket and they were fine with that. When you consider you are entering a roomful of fake news media, 90% of whom hate the President, you would think they would have better security,” Lake added.
The New York Times reported that the entrance to the hotel had not been equipped with metal detectors, and the entrance to the security zone was close to the ballroom where the dinner was to be served.
Commentators have noted that Trump has been a target for a number of assassination attempts. In 1981, Ronald Reagan was seriously injured outside the Washington Hilton by an armed assailant.
GNA