Corey Comperatore went to a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and never came home.
Now the men and women keeping Trump alive say what they're facing today makes Butler look like a warning shot.
Something has changed in 2026 – and the Secret Service just told the country what it is.
Secret Service Director Sean Curran Says Threats Against Trump Are Off the Charts
The Secret Service has already logged roughly 10,000 cases involving threats to government officials in 2026 alone.
That's a 40% increase over the same period last year.
"They're increasing in volume and complexity," a senior Secret Service official told reporters Wednesday.
The agency's mental health committals of people suspected of making threats against protectees have spiked by a factor of ten.
Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett told a House subcommittee just last week that the threat level to federal judges "is really high."
Director Sean Curran has been protecting presidents for 24 years and says he has never seen anything like this.
Iran Assassination Plot Against Trump Just Got More Specific
Tehran isn't waiting for domestic actors to finish the job.
Secret Service Deputy Director Matthew Quinn told reporters Wednesday that Iran has publicly declared its intention to kill Trump.
"I don't think it's any secret," Quinn said. "It's been in the media. Iran has publicly said they want to kill President Trump."
Iran has vowed retaliation since Trump ordered the 2020 drone strike that killed Revolutionary Guard commander Qassem Soleimani.
The threat sharpened further when Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a joint U.S.-Israeli strike that triggered the current Iran war.
Two weeks ago, Israeli intelligence shared a new, specific Iranian plot to assassinate Trump with American officials – described by the Wall Street Journal as a "fresh" plan.
The Secret Service is now examining a Persian-language video using computer-generated graphics to map Trump's motorcade routes through Florida and New York, identifying arrival points and protective details.
"Look, the threat's real," Quinn said about drones. "Look at Ukraine. It's just a matter of time before it comes to the United States."
Fiber Optic Drones and the Weapon Secret Service Cannot Jam
Guns and knives can be intercepted at a magnetometer.
Drones can't.
Federal prosecutors charged eight men earlier this year with plotting to attack a UFC event on the White House South Lawn using explosive drones.
That plot was stopped – the next one won't come with a warning.
The agency is up against two weapons that defeat its standard defenses: fiber-optic drones guided by physical cable rather than radio signal, immune to jamming; and dark drones that transmit no signal at all, invisible to radar and RF detection systems alike.
You can't jam what isn't broadcasting.
"The threat continues to get tougher and tougher," Quinn said.
The Secret Service is now exploring what Curran called "kinetic solutions, something that we haven't done before" – physical intercept technologies capable of destroying a drone mid-flight before it reaches its target.
DHS committed $115 million to counter-drone technology ahead of America's 250th anniversary celebrations and the FIFA World Cup.
Six years of Democrats calling Trump a fascist and a dictator, screaming that he was destroying the country – and they're surprised the threats look like this.
Trump was asked Tuesday if he feels safe.
"I feel safe," he said. "Why wouldn't I feel safe?"
That answer is exactly what you'd expect from a man who stood up bloody at Butler, raised his fist, and told the country he wasn't done.
The Secret Service can’t rest of their laurels.
They have to stop what's coming – and what's coming, by their own account, has never been this dangerous.
Sources:
- "U.S. Secret Service official: 'Threat environment is the highest we've ever seen,'" CNBC, July 22, 2026.
- "Off the charts: Secret Service director says threat environment most challenging he's ever seen," ABC News, July 22, 2026.
- "Indictment Charges Cole Tomas Allen with Attempt to Assassinate the President," U.S. Department of Justice, May 2026.
- "WHCA dinner gunman pleads not guilty to attempted Trump assassination charges," Washington Examiner, May 11, 2026.
- "Secret Service is examining apparent Iranian video outlining Trump motorcade routes, assassination opportunities," Nextgov/FCW, July 2026.
- "Iran had 'specific' plan to kill Trump, US media report citing Israeli intel," Heritage Review, July 2026.
- "2 years after Butler shooting, Trump has faced multiple assassination attempts," The National Desk, July 13, 2026.