A new report claims that the U.S. Secret Service shot down a drone that was following President Donald Trump’s motorcade in Pennsylvania during the 2024 presidential election amid concerns regarding potential threats from Iran against Trump. The report also claims that the Trump campaign used a decoy plane and motorcade as an additional precaution for the president during the election cycle.
The report, which was published on Axios by reporter Alex Isenstadt, provides an overview of his upcoming book, titled “Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump’s Return to Power.”
According to the report, Secret Service agents discovered that a drone was following Trump’s motorcade during a trip to Pennsylvania in September. After spotting the drone, Secret Service agents opened one of the motorcade moonroofs and shot and disabled the drone with an electromagnetic gun.
Isenstadt’s report also claimed that law enforcement officials warned the Trump campaign that Iran had operatives located in the United States with access to surface-to-air missiles. The reporter noted that Trump’s campaign team was concerned that Iranian operatives could attempt to shoot down “Trump Force One,” the president’s private jet, as it was taking off or landing during the campaign cycle.
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According to Isenstadt’s upcoming book, while Iran was not linked to the Trump assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July or the assassination attempt in West Palm Beach, Florida, in September, the president’s security detail grew increasingly concerned regarding the potential threat of an Iranian assassination attempt.
Isenstadt reported that on one occasion following the September assassination attempt, Trump’s campaign had him travel to an event on a decoy plane owned by Steve Witkoff, a real estate executive, while a significant portion of Trump’s staff remained on Trump Force One. According to Isenstadt, Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita, Trump’s co-campaign managers, split up, with Wiles accompanying Trump on Witkoff’s plane and LaCivita remaining with Trump’s staff on Trump Force One.
Isenstadt’s book notes that many of Trump’s aides were unaware of the plan to use a decoy plane until just before takeoff. “The boss ain’t riding with us today,” LaCivita reportedly told Trump’s aides. “We had to put him into another plane. This is nothing but a sort of test for how things may happen in the future.”
Three Trump aides told Isenstadt that the staffers on Trump Force One realized, “This was some serious sh-t.” Isenstadt added that Trump campaign staffers later referred to the flight as the “Ghost Flight.”
According to Isenstadt, the Secret Service also used a decoy motorcade on the same day as the “Ghost Flight” to provide additional protection for Trump amid concerns of increased threats.
