Secret Service Stops Security Screening at Obama Rally

something smells fishy...

If I were obama- I'd be spending all my money on security guards

UPDATE:

OK, the Secret Service has issued a very bizarre response:

Secret Service says Obama rally was secure

The U.S. Secret Service Friday denied reports that security measures at a recent Barack Obama rally in Texas were relaxed or deviated from established plans.

Secret Service spokesman Eric Zahren said there was no order from the Secret Service to stop screening people going to the Obama rally Wednesday at Dallas's Reunion Arena. He said that the event's security plans didn't involve having each participant pass through a magnetometer, as may be the case at other events.

...

"Any allegations to the fact that we had suspended screening or deviated from the original security plan would be entirely inaccurate," Zahren said.

More...

So in other words, there was no deviation from the plan, because the plan didn't require 100% of the screening.

A nice technical answer, huh?



[edit on 22-2-2008 by loam]

Well, I've been doing some additional reading...

The more you look, the more interesting this gets:

The law governing Secret Service protection for presidential candidates is U.S.C. 18, Part II, Sec. 3056, which reads, in part, "(a) Under the direction of the Secretary of Homeland Security, the United States Secret Service is authorized to protect the following persons: ... (7) Major Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates and, within 120 days of the general Presidential election, the spouses of such candidates. As used in this paragraph, the term 'major Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates' means those individuals identified as such by the Secretary of Homeland Security after consultation with an advisory committee consisting of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the minority leader of the House of Representatives, the majority and minority leaders of the Senate, and one additional member selected by the other members of the committee."

Seven Candidates Qualify for Secret Service Protection But Don't Have It

The Cybercast News Service source article also states:

Seven presidential candidates "meet or exceed" the "criteria for consideration" for Secret Service protection but do not have it, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said in a letter sent last week to a special congressional committee that advises in such matters.

...

Democratic presidential contenders Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) and Sen. Hillary Clinton (N.Y.) have Secret Service protection, and the seven candidates who "currently meet or exceed" the "criteria for consideration" of protection but don't have it, according to Chertoff, are: John Edwards, Rudolph Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, John McCain, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson. (The "criteria for consideration" for Secret Service protection are not publicly available.)

Chertoff's leaked letter also provides this information:

According to Chertoff's letter, the Secret Service has provided protection for 454 Clinton trips and 404 Obama trips between May 1, 2007 and Jan. 1, 2008.

The source article indicates:

The date of Chertoff's letter, Jan. 9, 2008, coincides with the date on a letter addressed to him from the chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), which urges more protection for presidential candidates.

"I reiterate my request for increased protective and security service to all the remaining candidates that are competing in the primaries and caucuses this winter and spring," wrote Thompson.

Obama apparently is the earliest candidate in history to receive Secret Service protection. This Washington Post article describes:

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) was placed under Secret Service protection yesterday, in the earliest such move for a presidential candidate who was not an administration veteran.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff authorized Obama's protection at the senator's request after consultations with House and Senate leaders in both parties, spokesmen for the Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security said.

...

Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) expressed concern to Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) about information on threats to Obama in letters and on the Internet, the Chicago Tribune reported. Reid raised the issue with DHS, the Tribune said.

Secret Service Guards Obama

I'm quite sure the mere mention of Chertoff's name at the apex of this process runs chills down the spine of many tin-foil hat wearers.

Fascinating.

reply to post by loam



So the security protocols for the event in question Did Not include a practice that is Common for most other major events (ie football, baseball and hockey games), many concerts, and even Required to enter Federal office buildings and the boarding gates of every major airport?


I wonder if events featuring Sen. Clinton include having guests skip the metal detectors?


If not, Hmmmmm...!

Well dang it! I guess one of us will have to take a pot shot at him in order to get the security beefed up. Any takers?

Originally posted by yankeeroseI would make the connection very quickly that perhaps old Dubya wants Hillary to win the Democratic Primary.

This is huge! starred and flagged!!!

Thank God nothing happened, and hopefully nothing does. Also, it might not be Dubya, it could be Bill Clinton...

Originally posted by JBA2848
Or maybe the rumor the elite want Obama gone are true.

Why would they want Obama gone? It doesn't matter who gets in the White House - they'll be serving their masters ... just as they always have.

Long Live the CFR, Bilderburg Group, & Trilateral Commission!

They've made sure that the one person that doesn't serve them has been ostracized from the race. If someone gets assassinated it'll be from a single person with an agenda of hate. Not the NWO.

reply to post by Rotoplooker


Hey, I submitted this to Drudge last night!!! LOL

Though, im sure im not the only one.

Fox just talked about it and expressed SHOCK over it. I, however, got interrupted and missed the interviews they had in regards to it.

My different conspiracy spin on this is that maybe this is how Hillary still "wins" the nomination - by default if "something happens" to Obama.

Any sympathy vote would help her in the general election, as well.

Wouldn't be the first or only dead body left behind in the Clinton's ruthless quest for power.

[edit on 2/22/2008 by centurion1211]

Yahoo's headline reads "Many blacks voice concerns over Obama's safety"

link-news.yahoo.com...< br />
"Obama received Secret Service protection last May — the earliest ever for any presidential candidate. At the time, federal officials said they were not aware of any direct threats to Obama, but Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin — who was among those recommending the Secret Service deployment — acknowledged receiving information, some with racial overtones, that made him concerned for Obama's safety."

UPDATE, AGAIN

The newspaper that broke the story now reports more:

Secret Service defends security at Obama rally in Dallas

Others said they had recently attended large political events, many for Obama, where security screening was halted. Jeremy Dibbell of Boston said in an e-mail that he attended an Obama event in Boston at which "the same thing happened there. We waited for hours in line as people were screened, and then suddenly everyone was just allowed in without going through any inspection at all.

Nick Shapiro, a spokesman for Obama in Texas, said the campaign would have no comment on whether there was a security breech in Dallas. Shapiro referred questions to the Secret Service.

"There were no security lapses at that venue," said Eric Zahren, a spokesman for the Secret Service in Washington. He added there was "no deviation" from the "comprehensive and layered" security plan, implemented in "very close cooperation with our law enforcement partners

More...

I am starting to think Obama may still stand for true freedom and yes even "liberty". I hope anyway, BUT I am not sure.

lol....Yikes........If this is true than it had to be some kind of mistake. Dallas of all places

Maybe they figured that Obama's biggest assassin was sitting next to him and she was firing blanks anyway ?

reply to post by loam


The last three paragraphs speak volumes, albeit, between the lines, firstly:

He declined to give the reason for checking people for weapons at the front of the lines and letting those farther back go in without inspection.

"We would not want, by providing those details, to have people trying to derive ways in which they could defeat the security at any particular venue," Zahren said.

So if an "incident" takes place in the future, it won't be due to their failure to check everyone who enters the venue, it'll be due to the public release and knowledge of their curiously flawed and secretive security precautions?

I mean, WTF??

And secondly:

Lt. V.L. Hale III, a spokesman for the Dallas Police Department, said in a statement Friday that he would not comment on security measures at the Obama rally except to say there was no arrest or incident and that it was a "success from a police standpoint."

In other words, he's been directed by the feds to erect the "Blue Code of Silence."

And, "success from a police standpoint" means they dodged a bullet this time.

But Obama may not be so lucky in the events to come, if this is to be the "standard" operational procedure.

I went to the Huckabee rally that same night (for work). Outside of the campus police, there was NO security there, not even the local cops. No one was screened. No one was challenged.

I was at the Phoenix stump, it was the same there. You could have brought anything in. I was close enough to get a hand shake. I was worried the whole time about it.

My husband said, "You listen to too much Coast to Coast".

The event was in late January, they didn't really seem to be too worried. I was. The SS was right next to him as he shook hands, but anyone could have done anything. I just said a prayer for him.

I think #2 is what is going on though.

Windy in Phoenix

Originally posted by MrWendal


4) and of course there is one more final option that I feel must be considered... It is all BS and it is all propaganda. If you believe that Obama is just another CFR candidate and a part of the Elite, why would they remove him? Could it be more fear tactics or perhaps simply a way to distract people from what may really be going on behind the scenes?

I can debunk this angle. I was at the rally. There was not one bit of scrutiny that I saw applied to anyone. They had 4 metal detectors, all of which were pushed to the side as people were herded in. Bags were not checked, and people were not screened. I did not watch the entire time, but at least with me and the approx. 200 people that entered in front of and behind me, nobody was even pulled aside and spot checked.

Also, concerning the point that SS agents made about screening people at the front of the line. I was probably in the first 10% of people to enter Reunion Arena that day (I base this on the fact that A LOT of people were seated after me.) I am not sure when they stopped screening, but it was prior to me entering, as I was not screened. Even if they stopped immediately before me entering (which was not the case) then that leaves 90% of the arena un screened.

Basically the people who were screened had been waiting in line since 4:30 A.M. I know this because news reports indicated that the first person in line arrived at that time to wait. I don't know about you, but I think someone who is going to assassinate a presidential candidate is not going to be so obvious as to get in line with an "I LOVE OBAMA" sign and wait...Just a hunch...

Something else to consider is that they may be making a story of this to make ill intentioned people aware that security at Obama rallies is lax. This would be "the powers that be" assassinating Obama by proxy. That is, wanting him out of the way, and making the situation conducive to where an unrelated person with completely unrelated motives could carry out their dirty work. Any thoughts?

All things aside, I think it is a sad day when we expect to see someone get assassinated because of the state of our country.

How is it we expect this to happen? This is the legacy that those that started this coup has left us with.

If Barack survives, then most will suspect he is IN with the PTB. If he is assassinated, then it will be 1963/1968 all over again.

As an optimist, I hope for the best, and don't think it will happen. If it did, I suspect that not only will a great candidate not survive, neither will the government.

Hey guys Im sort of new to ATS i have been reading the posts for a while now and decided to join in the fun. I doubt that this was anything more than just a security lapse. I mean why go through all the trouble of doing this? There are other much less dramatic ways of taking a canidate out of the picture ie everyone has skeletons in the closet. Heres also something new i didnt know, and guess what i found out today doing some research into barrack obama because i was thinking of voting for him.... hes actually a relative of Dick Cheney! here is the link!

www.thesequitur.com...

i guess that put an end to the assisination theory!