INDUSTRY NEWS

At A Glance

We cast our eye over the main stories impacting the security industry. Here's what's appeared on the radar since the last issue.

Rising threat of partisan violence in the United States leads to increased Private Security spend

Security spending for US politicians became easier in March 2021, when the FEC ruled that members of Congress could spend campaign funds on "bona fide, legitimate, professional personal security personnel."

But some lawmakers had charged protection-related expenditures to their campaigns even before the agency's ruling, particularly in the weeks after supporters of then-President Donald Trump attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.

"This is not an uptick, this is a huge avalanche of new spending on security. And it all began with the Trump," Holman said. "Trump supporters and Trump himself have encouraged violence against those who disagree with Trump." For many lawmakers, the January 6 attack served as a wake-up call to the threat of violence in American politics. As the proTrump mob ransacked the Capitol, then-Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi were whisked away to safety while other elected officials huddled behind police-guarded doors.

Following the Capitol siege, Republicans who criticized Trump were among the biggest spenders on security. Rep. Liz Cheney, a Republican from Wyoming who voted in favor of Trump's second impeachment, hired a security consulting firm and retained three Secret Service agents who'd previously protected her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney.

Beyond the January 6 attacks, prominent politicians have been targeted in plots or seriously wounded in attacks.

A gunman shot Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, a Democrat from Arizona, in the head during a 2011 constituent event, nearly killing her. In 2017, a gunman shot Republican House Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana while he was practicing for the annual Congressional Baseball Game in Alexandria, Virginia. A neighbor attacked Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, breaking several of his ribs and cutting his face.

In 2020, 14 men were arrested and charged in connection with an alleged plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Of the six arrested on a federal kidnapping conspiracy charge, one has pleaded guilty and is expected to testify against the rest at a trial later this year.

Security Experts weigh in as the debate around the threat to Prince Harry intensifies

The risk to Prince Harry's and his family's lives is now higher after he and his wife Meghan Markle stepped back as working members of the royal family, according to royal expert Richard Aitch.

Aitch pointed out that police have the power of the law and "can create sterile and secure areas they can prevent access by the civilians on the ground venues."

They are also able to reduce the risk to the lives of people they are protecting "quite considerably" because they can control traffic flow, stop traffic and travel at the speed they prefer, according to the security expert.

In a statement issued earlier this month, a legal representative for Prince Harry said that the duke's private security team does not have adequate jurisdiction abroad or access to U.K. intelligence information necessary to protect him, his wife and their children, Archie, 2, and Lilibet, 7 months.

The representative said Prince Harry was "unable to return to his home" because it was too dangerous.

According to the representative, Prince Harry sought police protection following an incident in London in 2021, when he returned to the U.K. for the unveiling of a statue of Princess Diana, and his security was compromised after his car was reportedly chased by photographers as he left a charity event.

However, Dai Davies, who was an operational unit commander for royal protection from 1995 and a former divisional commander in the Metropolitan Police Service, insisted that "the risk at this stage is deemed low" and that if Prince Harry needs police protection, it will be granted.

"There has never been a precedent where somebody pays for their security in this country. If it's required, it will be provided," Davies said on "Good Morning Britain."

Ken Wharfe, Princess Diana's former personal protection officer, pointed out that if Prince Harry's request is granted because he offered to pay, then "every visiting Hollywood star and wealthy celebrity may as well expect the same privileges."

"He cannot claim he was not told. For him now to be threatening legal action against the government, and by extension against the Queen herself, is unprecedented for any royal, even one who has abdicated his official duties," Wharfe wrote.

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Mexican cartels now use IEDs as well as bomb-dropping drones

In the war raging between drug cartels in western Mexico, gangs have begun using improvised explosive devices (IEDs) on roads to disable army vehicles.

The self-defense movement in the town of Tepalcatepec, in western Michoacan state, said improvised land mines severely damaged an army armored car late last week.

A spokesman for the movement, which is battling the Jalisco cartel, supplied photos showing a disabled army light armored vehicle on a road with damage he said was caused by such a mine.

The spokesman, who refused to reveal his name for fear of reprisals, said the explosion happened last Saturday in the town of Taixtan, near Tepalcatepec, where locals have been battling Jalisco gunmen for months. use homemade armored cars and drones modified to drop small bombs. But it would be the first time IEDs have been successfully used by cartels in Mexico.

The Defense Department confirmed that army patrols were attacked in the area Saturday four times with explosives, homemade armored cars and gunfire that wounded 10 soldiers. The department did not specify what type of explosives were involved.

Security analyst Juan Ibarrola, who specializes in the military, said “the worrisome thing is the improvisation that they (criminal groups) are doing with engineering, to create weapons, boobytraps, explosives and so on.”

Rather than trying to fight an outright war with the army — which they know they would lose — Ibarrola said that with the IEDs and other devices “more than anything else, what they are trying to do is threaten and take on rival groups.”

Man arrested after abducting Michael Bloomberg’s Colorado housekeeper at gunpoint

An armed suspect stormed Michael Bloomberg‘s Colorado ranch and kidnapped the former mayor’s housekeeper while stating he wanted to “make an international scene” with the billionaire or his daughters.

Joseph Beecher, 48, allegedly rammed his truck through the $45 million ranch’s gate on Wednesday and abducted Amanda Edinger at gunpoint. He then forced her to drive him through metro Denver and into Wyoming in her vehicle, after trying to hide his damaged truck in an embankment, court documents said.

Cops caught up with Beecher and Edinger Thursday at a Cheyenne motel, where Beecher was allegedly armed with an AR15 and a handgun.

The Bloombergs were not home at the time of the attack and the housekeeper was not injured.

The suspect lived about 70 miles away from the Bloomberg home and had no connection to the high profile family or his victim, police said. He had worked as a handyman in exchange for housing, but was fired from the job and evicted from his home a day before the kidnapping, according to the affidavit.

Beecher was jailed in Wyoming and faced federal kidnapping charges.

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Elon Musk offered a 19-year-old $5,000 to take down a Twitter account that tracks his private jet

Elon Musk messaged the owner of a Twitter account that tracks his private jet, with an offer of $5,000 if he took the account offline.

The "Elon Musk's Jet" account shows the movements of Musk's private jet, using bots that monitor publicly available airtraffic data.

The owner of the account, a 19-yearold named Jack Sweeney, received a message in fall last year at 12:13 a.m. from Musk. It said: "Can you take this down? It is a security risk."

Sweeney replied, "Yes I can but it'll cost you a Model 3 only joking unless?”. Musk said, "I don't love the idea of being shot by a nutcase,"

When Sweeney told Musk where he was aggregating the data from, Musk responded, "Air traffic control is so primitive,”.

Musk tweeted earlier this month that social-media accounts tracking his movements were "becoming a security issue."