Protecting Trump From Would-Be Assassins, Virginia-Style
Mike Imprevento is not only my partner on “The Kerry and Mike” talk radio show (9 to 10 every weekday!) but a successful attorney and until recently, a Captain and Staff Attorney for the Norfolk’s Sheriff’s Office. It was in his latter capacity that he was part of the law enforcement team that protected Donald Trump during the former president’s Chesapeake rally last month.
The assassination attempt last weekend spurred him to write about his experience at the earlier Trump rally. Mike wrote this in his personal capacity.
By Mike Imprevento
This never would have happened in Chesapeake. The attempted assassination of Donald Trump, that is.
On June 28, 2024 in the City of Chesapeake, thousands of patriots who love this country and support former President Trump came together to hear his message. The venue, Greenbrier Farms, presented challenges just as Butler, PA did.
That is for later.
Despite the long wait in the heat and delays in the screening process, the attendees saw and experienced a celebration of political speech and freedom in a volatile political season. Trump brought a bevy of Virginia’s elected representatives and former political figures on the stage. All were safe. All were secure.
What follows is why.
I write in my individual capacity reflecting on a day I am proud of. I speak for myself and myself only on a matter of public concern.
Prior to the event the Secret Service, which is primarily responsible for the protection of President Trump, reached out to Chesapeake law enforcement officials and other agencies to begin the coordination that is so vital to the success of these complicated events. In short order it was determined that this appearance would have significant coverage from law enforcement that would later be characterized as “unprecedented” by Trump’s team as well as the Secret Service.
This happened because in Hampton Roads we act as a team.
In my then-capacity as both a Captain and Staff Attorney for Norfolk Sheriff Joe Baron ( I have since assumed an auxiliary role and have re-entered the full time private practice of law) I worked with my counterpart in Virginia Beach, Tim Oksman, a public service veteran, to forge a multi-jurisdictional agreement that would pull together sheriff’s offices outside of Chesapeake as force multipliers. The Code of Virginia has long permitted this and Virginia Beach Sheriff Rocky Holcomb and Sheriff Jim O’Sullivan of Chesapeake joined in so that scores of law enforcement professionals would be on hand to engage in crowd control and security.
I was honored to join our detail from the Norfolk Sheriff’s Office and we convened at 6 a.m. to receive instructions from the Secret Service. We were assigned posts within the concentric circles of coverage that are classic security protocols. The Chesapeake Police uniformed, plainclothes and SWAT, multiple Virginia State Police units ( including an aviation asset), Homeland Security Investigations with dog teams, U.S. Navy police K-9 as well as the sheriff’s offices had assigned roles to protect, observe and communicate. Bicycle officers and deputies covered acres in the searing heat.
We fanned out to do our jobs.
The potential threats at Greenbrier Farms were no different than those in Butler Pa. A determined shooter with the right rifle can change history in ways we have tragically seen. Commonly available bolt and semi-automatic rifles can be lethal at well over 1000 yards in skilled hands. A trained sniper, even a determined amateur, could crawl in with a ghillie suit or retrieve a previously planted rifle. The area was vast and cover for a person determined to kill abundant.
We were ready.
A security tower provided by the Chesapeake Police was erected and placed with a 360 degree view of the potential threat area. Virginia State Police had the aerial overwatch with a helicopter. The vast tree line and foliage created many places where unauthorized personnel could crawl in and conceal themselves. This is just like the elevated positions in Butler that are classic platforms for a criminal to perch upon. We had these high red flag areas covered as best as we could. Our Norfolk Sheriff’s Office team was assigned the treeline adjacent to the entrance fence.
We covered an enormous amount of ground as we watched for breaches and suspicious activity well past our assigned area.
Inexplicably, these rooftops in Butler, a mere 130 yards and little more from the center stage where Trump would stand, were allowed to remain unmanned and apparently unwatched. At this point it appears no one was sterilizing these sites by simply perching atop them as a sentinel of safety for all.
In Chesapeake, we covered ALL access points with significant manpower and a vigilance borne of morale. We were honored to be there and we could feel that we made a difference.
I will never understand what happened in Butler. A man is dead, others wounded as the result of a shooter exploiting a glaring security loophole that any protection professional would see.
And what of the reports rolling in with videos showing citizens shouting about a man moving on the roof moments before he sprayed 3000 feet per second projectiles at his target.? It is too late at that point.
A report of Butler police allegedly investigating and then failing to intervene has leaked. True?
What we do know is a crack Secret Service overwatch counter-sniper team with both prone and tripod mounted equipment that could reach out beyond 1000 yards was positioned in an ideal location to kill an adversary. Both snipers had variable scopes of at least 30 power making the rooftop. If they saw the shooter he would appear as close as a television screen in front of their eyes. A skilled press of a 1.5 lb trigger in a chassis rifle firing a .300 Winchester Magnum or similar round at 130 yards - a laughable shot for any LE or military sniper - would have prevented the grief and horror that followed inexplicable inaction.
What happened? We will find out.
In the meantime, there are questions: Were there rules of engagement? Negligence? Did the snipers hesitate because they did not want to make the wrong decision ? Did they see the threat and ask to engage? The House Oversight Committee Chair, Rep. James Comer, must not let the unvarnished truth be hidden from us.
The critical factor in success locally was that in Chesapeake ALL agencies were on the same radio frequency. We were instructed to speak in plain English so agency specific codes did not have to be used. We frequently summoned rescue personnel from Fire and EMS to assist with heat exhaustion cases.
Was the same procedure in effect in Butler? Were opportunities missed? Thankfully we were not faced with the tactical situation that unfolded in Butler but we did cover the vulnerable points with everything we could throw at them. Cost and manpower were not an obstacle to safety and freedom.
What if Butler Police, Pennsylvania State Police or someone else saw the man on the roof – radio protocol is simple - push the mike and yell ARMED MAN ON ROOF, MAN ON ROOF ARMED BE ADVISED and location. Secret Service, even if failing to spot this threat would then shift to Trump and throw him to the ground while shielding him.
They would simultaneously shout GET DOWN to the assembled crowd. Perhaps the poor soul who died might be alive. We must know the truth. We must not turn away. We must ensure that our law enforcement assets act as a team and with purpose. Trump’s survival is a function of his own quick thinking and the rushed shots of an unhinged sociopath who knew he was going to die.
The iconic image of Trump’s courage, clarity of thought under fire and raised fist transcending the fog, confusion and horror will make political history.
No candidate has ever been vetted so thoroughly in such varied crucibles.
I know one thing. This shooting would not have happened in Chesapeake.
It should never happen anywhere else in the greatest and richest nation on earth.
