Trump returns to Mar-a-Lago as road closure, increased security take effect in Palm Beach

Former President Donald Trump returned to his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach this past weekend, as the U.S. Secret Service increased security around the historic estate following an attempted assassination July 13 at a Trump campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

According to an alert from the Federal Aviation Administration, Trump arrived in Palm Beach late Saturday night, hours after a road closure went into effected earlier in the day next to Mar-a-Lago.

Law enforcement agencies on Saturday morning shut down South Ocean Boulevard from its intersection with South County Road down to the Southern Boulevard traffic circle next to Mar-a-Lago, citing a need for increased security and saying the closure will be in effect through at least the Nov. 5 general election.

The FAA alert, which notifies pilots of increased security in place for a VIP and pinpoints Mar-a-Lago, is in effect until 1 p.m. July 25. Trump is scheduled for a campaign rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, the evening of July 24.

Trump arrived in Palm Beach from a Saturday night campaign rally in Michigan, his first campaign alongside his pick for vice president, J.D. Vance, whose selection was announced at last week's Republican National Convention in Wisconsin.

A gunman, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Pennsylvania, shot at Trump on July 13 as the Republican nominee for president spoke at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump's right ear was grazed, and three other people were shot, one fatally. Crooks was shot and killed by the Secret Service.

While Trump's primary residence is Mar-a-Lago, Trump typically does not spend a lot of time there through the summer months, when the club is closed and Palm Beach is in its social off-season.

Trump's return to Mar-a-Lago on Saturday night was attended by his supporters, who lined Southern Boulevard as they often to do to welcome him home.

Palm Beach officials have said they will try to seek changes to the indefinite road closure.

The increased security measures include a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office boat in the Intracoastal Waterway next to Mar-a-Lago's seawall. The Florida Department of Transportation on Saturday morning placed concrete barricades at both the Southern Boulevard traffic circle and the intersection of South County Road and South Ocean Boulevard. Residents in the area affected by the closure can only exit and enter through the northern point of the closure, officials said.

The security measures implemented over the past few days are reminiscent of those during Trump's presidency, but they were scaled back following his departure from office in 2021.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Trump returns to Palm Beach as increased security measures take effect