60 Minutes Transcript: Secret Service confronts rise in threats

The United States Secret Service was created 161 years agone erstwhile Abraham Lincoln signed it into law. That aforesaid time helium was fatally wounded by an assassin. Since past the service's ngo has evolved from catching counterfeiters to protecting the lives of presidents, their families, and different apical officials.

Today successful the property of AI, the threats are not conscionable from a lone assassin's slug but autonomous onslaught drones. The U.S. is simply a state that feels connected edge. The Secret Service told america the fig of threats is mode up against its protectees, particularly President Trump. He has been the people of much assassination attempts than immoderate different president. So we wanted to talk to the manager of the agency, Sean Curran. He's been an cause for 25 years and is present starring the Secret Service that's successful the enactment of fire. 

Norah O'Donnell: How would you picture the existent menace situation successful this country?

Sean Curran: It's similar we've ne'er seen before. The threats connected our full-time protectees are up conscionable implicit 40% since they-- than they were past year. That's a monolithic increase.

Sean Curran is the 28th manager of the United States Secret Service. He told america that since January determination person been 10,000 threats connected the radical they protect. 

Norah O'Donnell: 10,000 menace cases--

Sean Curran: Threat cases.

Norah O'Donnell: --just this year?

Sean Curran: And the year's not over. 

Curran and his lawman director, Matthew Quinn spoke to 60 Minutes successful their archetypal associated interview.

Norah O'Donnell: What's driving that?

Sean Curran: Look, I deliberation a batch of it has to bash with the internet. You know-- radical are much accessible. Information is much accessible. It's-- it's decidedly caller to us.

In the past 2 and a fractional years, determination person been 3 known attempts connected President Trump's life: at a run rally successful Butler, Pennsylvania, his Florida play course, and the White House Correspondents' Dinner wherever a shooter breached the information perimeter.

Norah O'Donnell: President Trump is 1 of the astir polarizing governmental figures successful American history. Is that successful immoderate mode starring to the summation successful these threats?

Sean Curran: We are an apolitical organization. We're present to support who we're-- we're sworn to protect. 

Matt Quinn: Look, I would accidental there's radical connected some sides of the aisle that either emotion oregon hatred immoderate president. I deliberation the biggest origin we're dealing with contiguous is-- intelligence wellness issues for sure. And much radical are being pushed implicit the borderline successful either direction.

Sean Curran: The satellite is antithetic than what it was 20 years ago. You know, societal media changes people.

Norah O'Donnell: Do much threats travel from the near oregon right?

Sean Curran: We don't measurement it that way. We-- we conscionable look at, you know, who-- who is, you know, making a threat. We analyse it. We tally it down, each and each threat.

Research by the Center for Strategic and International Studies showed a spike successful incidents - astatine the section and nationalist level - from the near successful 2025. It was the archetypal clip left-wing attacks person been higher than right-wing attacks successful 30 years. This twelvemonth that inclination has reversed with much attacks coming from the close truthful far.

Eight months into a warfare with Iran, the threats from extracurricular the state are besides growing.

Norah O'Donnell: They person vowed revenge. How bash you woody with that erstwhile you're successful complaint of protecting the president? 

Matt Quinn: Turn connected the TV and you tin spot the ceremonial wherever determination are monolithic banners saying "Kill President Trump." So bash we admit the menace situation has increased? Absolutely. How we bash it and however we change-- that's wherever we similar to enactment successful the-- successful the background.

Few radical cognize the risks much than Director Curran - who conscionable 2 years agone was the pb cause protecting President Trump erstwhile helium was campaigning connected July 13 successful Butler, Pennsylvania. 

Curran was among the agents who shielded President Trump erstwhile Thomas Crooks fired 8 rounds astatine the signifier from a rooftop 155 yards away.

Norah O'Donnell: You've not talked a batch astir what happened successful Butler, until now. 

Sean Curran: I haven't truly reflected connected it. I've kept myself busy. I've-- I've conscionable worked and worked. I've gone from duty to duty truthful that I've astir apt taken my caput disconnected of it. It's what we bid to do. It's what you ne'er privation to do.

Norah O'Donnell: What goes done your caput arsenic the pb agent?

Sean Curran: I mean we were look to face. And past I person to deliberation astir the adjacent move. You don't person clip to deliberation astir thing else. I americium his vest. You know, I deterioration my vest for him. It's not for me.

Norah O'Donnell: You were the pb cause successful charge. Is it existent that you had requested further resources and were denied?

Sean Curran: I'd alternatively not get into the past. I volition archer you that I did petition further resources, and I'll permission it astatine that.

A legislature proceeding led then-Director Kimberly Cheatle to resign implicit the breakdown of information that day. The recently re-elected Donald Trump enactment his pb cause successful complaint of the Secret Service. 

This past June the last authorities study connected Butler was released. 

Norah O'Donnell: The Inspector General study found, quote, "The Secret Service missed aggregate opportunities to detect, prevent, and disrupt the assassination attempt." This was a monolithic nonaccomplishment by galore accounts. Can you guarantee the American people, arsenic the director, that thing similar this won't hap again?

Sean Curran: Yes.

Norah O'Donnell: You're convinced?

Sean Curran: I americium convinced.

The bureau astatine each level has been dangerously understaffed for years.

Norah O'Donnell: Are you determination present connected the staffing?

Matt Quinn: We person 942 radical successful grooming today. If you looked backmost past year, determination was possibly 200 successful training. 

Since Butler, the Secret Service has expanded the formidable information footprint that surrounds the president. We saw that astatine the concealed service's grooming halfway successful Maryland. 

With the president backmost connected the run way up of the midterm elections, Curran has added caller grooming to debar the mistakes of Butler.

Norah O'Donnell: Well, this is the alleged beast. Right?

Sean Curran: Yes.

Even the president's limousine is getting regular updates, astir of them classified. 

 Norah O'Donnell: Oh, my God. It's truthful thick.

Sean Curran: Yeah.

Norah O'Donnell: Why is it truthful thick?

Sean Curran: Well, it's-- it's-- it's the ballistics that are built into it. Go ahead. I got the door.

Norah O'Donnell: Okay.

The conveyance weighs up to 10 tons, with bulletproof solid and antiaircraft antagonistic measures. 

Norah O'Donnell: So is-- and is it my understanding, too, wi-- similar with the beast that you could-- it volition support against a chemic weapons attack, too?

Sean Curran: I don't privation to get into its capabilities. But-- it's-- it tin bash a lot.

Director Curran added this aesculapian effect motortruck due to the fact that of what helium saw successful Butler. It houses a trauma portion and a tract surgeon acceptable to dainty gunshot wounds.

And this intimidating looking armored unit bearer is caller to the president's motorcade.

Norah O'Donnell: Why would you request a conveyance this big?

Matt Quinn: When you look astatine immoderate of the important civilian disturbance events we've had, however bash you determination people? You look astatine getting teams to the Capitol during the January 6th event. This provides america the quality to get radical wherever they request to beryllium and instrumentality attraction of them. Keep 'em safe.

Norah O'Donnell: Did you person this for January 6th?

Sean Curran: No.

Norah O'Donnell: No. 

Now the Secret Service is preparing for a caller menace - dissimilar immoderate seen successful its history.

Last week, the manager near office to personally trial counter-drone ammunition. 

Deputy Director Quinn is starring the agency's caller multimillion-dollar programme to make violative and antiaircraft drone capabilities.

Matt Quinn: What you're seeing close present is 1 of our fixed helping platforms. This has capableness to enactment up for a important play of time, supply real-time situational consciousness for-- for everybody connected the ground. 

The warfare successful Ukraine has go a testing crushed for the weaponization of drones. And that hasn't gone unnoticed by the Secret Service.

Norah O'Donnell: What are you learning from the battlefield successful Ukraine?

Matt Quinn: Everything. We conscionable had teams travel backmost astir 2 weeks ago. They are connected the front. They are connected the battlefield with this. We cognize that exertion is going to deed the homeland astatine immoderate point. So we're utilizing lessons learned determination to physique our programme and marque definite we're up of it earlier it gets here.

Norah O'Donnell: You mean you deliberation that drone attacks volition hap present successful the United States?

Sean Curran: We person to program for it. We person to presume that that-- that it's possible. The 2nd we're not, we're gonna get caught flat-footed. 

Norah O'Donnell: Oh, yeah.

Sean Curran: There it goes.

Norah O'Donnell: There it goes, the drone hunter. Okay. 

They showed america the drone hunter, a limb which uses AI and radar to disable force drones and seizure them with a net.

Matt Quinn: You heard the relation conscionable say, "Locked." What that means is that drone huntsman conscionable locked connected to the offending drone. So now, it's gonna commencement hunting.

Norah O'Donnell: Whoa.

Sean Curran: See? Now-- truthful now, it's coming--

Matt Quinn: What you spot is the drone hanging from the drone hunter. So the atrocious feline drone is present captured. It's gonna instrumentality it to a predetermined harmless area. 

The interest is that a small, rudimentary drone similar this 1 could beryllium weaponized with explosives and bash superior harm to a ample concert, sporting event, oregon run rally. 

Matt Quinn: Just this overmuch of C4 is plentifulness capable to bash a batch of damage, truthful it doesn't person to beryllium a large drone.

Norah O'Donnell: You're saying conscionable adjacent a tiny magnitude of explosives could be--

Sean Curran: Could origin a problem.

60 Minutes has learned the Secret Service took down a drone utilizing physics jamming instrumentality astatine the Army-Navy crippled successful Baltimore past December, wherever the president and members of Congress were successful attendance. 

Despite each the caller technology, the menace of an onslaught by a swarm of drones connected a spot similar the White House is inactive an issue. 

Matt Quinn: Swarms are a immense occupation and a large threat. I'd emotion to archer you the swarm occupation is solved. It's not. I volition archer you that astatine the White House, White House is the safest spot connected Earth.

Norah O'Donnell: The president posted an AI representation of benignant of a drone and a clump of drones connected apical of what would beryllium the caller White House ballroom. Is that what the future's gonna look like? 

Matt Quinn: Yes. We're deploying instrumentality everyplace that-- makes the astir consciousness to guarantee that the White House remains the safest spot successful the world.

Norah O'Donnell: But bash we request to militarize each of Washington D.C. successful bid to support the president?

Matt Quinn: No. The full extremity of our occupation is to supply maximum resources without the quality of overwhelming, overt militaristic sight. There's ways to bash it and still-- fto Americans support their freedoms, and inactive supply extortion astatine the highest level.

That extortion extends to the new Air Force One, a 747 donated by the Middle Eastern state of Qatar. Adding information enhancements to that level outgo the U.S. astir $400 million, according to the U.S. Air Force.

Norah O'Donnell: Does the Secret Service afloat spot a level that was fixed by a overseas government?

Sean Curran: We spot that plane.

Norah O'Donnell: Because you checked it each out?

Sean Curran: I won't get into that, but you can-- you tin marque your assumptions.

Despite his confidence, the Secret Service would not fto the president alert location connected that level from Turkey successful July aft quality reports of an Iranian crippled to occurrence a rocket astatine the statesmanlike jet. 

Instead, the Secret Service pulled disconnected a complicated scheme utilizing the aged Air Force One. They snuck President Trump into a catering truck. Cabinet members, White House staff, the press, and Secret Service Agents were near connected the decoy plane. 

Norah O'Donnell: So erstwhile the president said that it was a Secret Service determination to usage a decoy level erstwhile leaving the NATO acme successful Turkey this summer, wherefore did the Secret Service marque that decision?

Sean Curran: Look, that's not the archetypal clip we've done that. We privation that wasn't reported, 'cause that takes immoderate of our tactics distant from being capable to bash thing akin again. Certainly wasn't the archetypal clip wherever we-- we did thing similar that.

Norah O'Donnell: You're telling maine the president's been connected a decoy level before?

Sean Curran: I didn't accidental that. I'm conscionable saying that's not the archetypal clip we did thing similar that before.

Norah O'Donnell: But your agents were near down with different staffers connected this decoy Air Force One successful Turkey. Were you-- you were good with that?

Matt Quinn: When you're operating successful immoderate protective item with the president of the United States, for immoderate president, the precedence is the president. Everyone else, staff, agents, media, unit progressive are not the priority, including our ain personnel. As hard arsenic that whitethorn beryllium for immoderate to understand, the ngo is to support the president of the United States.

Produced by Michael Rey, Pat Milton, Julie Morse Goff. Associate producers, Matthew Riley and Jaime Woods. Broadcast associate, Gianna Totani. Edited by Thomas Xenakis.

In:

• United States Secret Service