Ex-Secret Service agent: Closing South Ocean around Trump's Mar-a-Lago is the right call

When the U.S. Secret Service abruptly ordered that a busy road next to former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club be closed following an assassination attempt, some Palm Beach officials and residents were flummoxed.

Why close South Ocean Boulevard between South County Road and Southern Boulevard around the clock through at least the Nov. 5 general election — even when Trump is not at his 17-acre Palm Beach estate?

A former Secret Service agent and a security professional who spoke with the Daily News said the reason is simple: to protect Trump, the people around him at Mar-a-Lago and his neighbors in Palm Beach’s ritzy Estate Section.

“I would argue that it never should have been open full-time, as soon as he was president,” said Paul Eckloff, who protected presidents and their families during his 22-year tenure with the Secret Service, adding that the road should have continued to be shut down next to Mar-a-Lago even as Trump is a former president.

There was a misunderstanding of the nature of the threats to top officials in the United States, "and that was made painfully apparent on July 13,” Eckloff said.

That was the day a gunman, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, opened fire on a campaign rally as Trump, the Republican nominee for president, was speaking. Trump’s right ear was hit, and three of his supporters were shot, one of whom was killed. The Secret Service shot and killed Crooks, who had fired from the roof of a nearby building.

Lawmakers have scrutinized the Secret Service’s actions before and during the shooting, and the agency’s director, Kimberly Cheatle, resigned following a contentious hearing before Congress. Former West Palm Beach police officer Ronald Rowe has been appointed acting director of the Secret Service.

The town July 18 announced the Secret Service’s plans to close South Ocean, with the closure going into effect at 5 a.m. July 20. Trump arrived later that day for his first stay at Mar-a-Lago since the attempted assassination.

Palm Beach on July 22 sent a letter to the Secret Service asking the agency to “provide the legal authority authorizing it to implement the road closure for the specified duration and even when protectee(s) are not in residence in the Town.” The letter, signed by Town Attorney Joanne O’Connor, said the indefinite closure is “a significant departure” from when Trump was in the White House, when the Secret Service closed the road only when Trump visited Mar-a-Lago.

The closure applies to vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians, and anyone who lives in the affected area must enter and exit through the north checkpoint at South County Road.

The closure, Palm Beach said in its letter, “effectively cuts the Town in two.”

Protection for the president by the Secret Service is mandated by federal law, Eckloff said. “They don’t just make decisions based on ideas,” he said, citing the U.S. code that establishes the agency’s powers, authorities and duties, giving the Secret Service the authority to protect presidents and their residences.

Trump declared Mar-a-Lago his permanent residence in 2019. Before that, his permanent residence was in Trump Tower in Manhattan.

While federal law says the Secret Service has to protect former presidents and their spouses for their lifetimes, it does not outline how the agency must provide that protection.

During his time with the Secret Service, Eckloff helped to assess security needs at Mar-a-Lago and served on protective teams for Trump and former President Barack Obama and their families.

He recalled how close South Ocean Boulevard is to Trump’s estate and the potential threat it poses.

“That curve at South Ocean Boulevard sits 75 yards from the front door of Mar-a-Lago,” Eckloff said.

A training guide for public safety officers developed by the Joint Counterterrorism Task Force of the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and local, state and regional agencies lays out the risks of a possible explosive near Mar-a-Lago in stark terms: A car, SUV or small delivery truck packed with explosives that detonates at or near that curve could damage not just Mar-a-Lago but also the nearby Bath & Tennis Club, which sits just south of Trump’s historic property.

The guide recommends a mandatory evacuation distance of about 106 yards for a car, about 130 yards for an SUV or van, and about 213 yards for a small delivery truck.

“Just because the president isn’t there doesn’t mean it is not a protected facility of the Secret Service in which there are federal agents and officers and local and state officers in assistance,” Eckloff said. “It is a protected facility, and their lives are also authorized to be protected.”

Should Trump make a quick decision to go to Palm Beach instead of another destination, there may not be enough time to adequately clear the area of any potential threats. Having the road closed provides security and law enforcement officers with better control over that area, Eckloff said.

A security professional who works for a company that protects high net worth individuals, including former public officials and celebrities, concurred. Declining to be named because of the sensitivity of the people they protect, the professional said many clients opt for remote homes because they are concerned about safety risks.

Mar-a-Lago’s south, east and west boundaries are open, and private residences line the northern boundary. The Intracoastal Waterway sits to the west, and the Atlantic Ocean is to the east — thus the name Mar-a-Lago, which means “sea to lake” in Spanish.

Construction of the estate was completed in 1927 by cereal heiress Marjorie Meriweather Post, who later in life talked with the federal government about using Mar-a-Lago after her death as a retreat for presidents and visiting dignitaries. When she died in 1973, she deeded the property to the National Park Service.

However, the government gave Mar-a-Lago back to the Marjorie Meriweather Post Foundation in 1981, citing the costs of upkeep.

Also, the Secret Service and State Department did not want Mar-a-Lago to be used as lodging for presidents and dignitaries, because the property was too large to properly secure. The agencies also said the estate's position under the flight path to Palm Beach International Airport made it vulnerable, according to news reports from that time.

Trump paid about $10 million for the property in 1985.

Today, Mar-a-Lago is a private club and residence for Trump, who has made it the centerpiece of his real estate portfolio and maintained it as a National Historic Landmark while offering it as a venue for weddings, fundraisers, galas and more.

It also is a potential bull’s-eye, the security professional said.

“Even a private resident, not a former president, would be difficult to secure there,” they said. “I can understand that it’s an inconvenience for neighbors (to close South Ocean Boulevard), but it protects them, too.”

Since Trump left office, the Secret Service has received approval for a new guardhouse, which is under construction at Mar-a-Lago’s main gate at 1100 S. Ocean Blvd.

Eckloff referred to recent news reports that the Secret Service has increased security around Trump also in response to a reported threat from Iran.

“The Secret Service learned starkly on July 13 that they had underestimated the threats of the 21st century, and they had to catch up,” he said. “For the citizens of Palm Beach, I would be glad they’re shutting it, because that keeps them all safer.”

Kristina Webb is a reporter for Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at kwebb@pbdailynews.com. Subscribe today to support our journalism.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Ex-Secret Service agent says closing South Ocean is right call