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Why Kimberly Cheatle’s journey from Secret Service director to protectee isn’t shocking
Tonight, NBC News’ Kelly O’Donnell reported that former U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has become U.S. Secret Service protectee Kimberly Cheatle. That’s because Cheatle, who resigned from her post on July 23, has become the target of unspecified, but presumably credible and significant, threats in the wake of the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump and the Secret Service’s failure to prevent it.
But as shocking as it is to see a former Secret Service director need the protection of her own former agency, it’s much less surprising when one considers the overall threat environment facing those whom Trump loyalists perceive as a danger to him — or them. After all, we learned earlier this week that the daughter of Judge Juan Merchan, who oversaw Trump’s New York hush money trial, and her business partner have each been subjected to death threats and harassment, and that law enforcement has advised the daughter and her family to leave their home for their own safety.
Further, in an interview with my NBC News colleague Ken Dilanian last month, Attorney General Merrick Garland noted that the Justice Department has brought 400 cases over the last two years alone dealing with threats against federal and state judges, federal and state prosecutors, federal and state legislators, and federal, state and local law enforcement officers. Of course, those are just the cases federal law enforcement has brought, not the totality of the threats.
