Palm Beach Officials Mull Closing Mar-a-Lago Amid Heightened Security

Authored by Samantha Flom via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Heightened security protocols at and around former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club have Palm Beach, Florida, officials contemplating its closure.

The U.S. Secret Service ramped up its protection of the former president’s estate, along with his other properties, after the July 13 attempt on his life.

One change was the closure of a portion of South Ocean Boulevard, which borders the club.

The closure, which began on July 20, is expected to last through to Election Day on Nov. 5 at the earliest, but officials are already receiving complaints.

“Our residents don’t feel safe right now,” Palm Beach Town Council member Julie Araskog said at the council’s Aug. 13 meeting.

“It’s hard to get a fire truck through, it’s hard to get out of their homes, it’s hard to get a caregiver in. I had a problem the other night, and you can’t get a nurse in.”

Despite the road closure, the Mar-a-Lago Club is expected to reopen for the start of the Palm Beach social season in the fall.

But Mayor Danielle Moore said: “If the road is closed, the Mar-a-Lago Club is closed.”

“There’s no way in God’s green earth that they can bring 350 people into that club,” Moore said. “It’s completely illogical that you’ve got a road closed and then you’re going to let 350 strangers into your club.”

While the mayor agreed with the need to secure Trump’s primary residence, she said: “You can’t have it both ways, boys and girls. Either the club’s open or not.”

Other council members voiced their agreement, directing staff to research the town’s legal options.

During Trump’s presidential term, the Secret Service closed the road by Mar-a-Lago when he was present in Palm Beach.

The latest closure is effective indefinitely, at all hours of the day, even in his absence.

The new protocol is just one of the measures the Secret Service has taken to increase protection for those in its charge in the wake of the assassination attempt on Trump, including maximizing personnel, increasing the use of drones, and faster approval of personnel requests.

Meanwhile, Palm Beach attorney Joanne O’Connor is still waiting for a response from the agency outlining the authority under which it is keeping South Ocean Boulevard closed.

While residents can access the road with proper identification, O’Connor noted in a July 22 letter to Secret Service Chief Counsel Thomas Huse that the closure “effectively cuts the town in two.”

Palm Beach Police Chief Nicholas Caristo said that the Secret Service and local police were working together to direct traffic in the area and improve signage to ease the congestion.

Caristo also advised that limiting bridge openings to only once per hour could help speed up traffic.

However, for that to happen, the Secret Service would need to reactivate the maritime security zone that was in place around Mar-a-Lago during Trump’s presidency.

Trump began operating Mar-a-Lago as a social club in 1993 under a declaration-of-use agreement with Palm Beach. A breach of that agreement could allow the town to revoke the club’s occupational license.

The Epoch Times has contacted both the Trump Organization and the Trump campaign for comment.