Robotic dogs patrol Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate after election win, Iranian murder plot
Robotic dogs are patrolling President-elect Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida days after his election victory as the Republican has faced two assassination attempts and reports of an Iranian murder plot against him.
Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris last week, making him the first U.S. president elected to serve two nonconsecutive terms since Grover Cleveland in the late 19th century. Trump is reportedly working on assembling his incoming administration from Mar-a-Lago.
In a video Reuters shared Thursday, a mechanical canine is seen walking around the perimeter of the Florida property. Some writing is visible on the robot's body and reads "Do Not Pet."
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The video also shows an attendant walking alongside the robot, an individual some reports have identified as a Secret Service agent.
Anthony Guglielmi, the chief communications officer for the Secret Service, told Nexstar that the mechanical hound helps protect the president. However, he did not confirm how long the agency has had the robots at Trump's residence.
"Safeguarding the President-elect is a top priority," Guglielmi stated. "While we cannot get into the specific capabilities, the robotic dogs are equipped with surveillance technology and an array of advanced sensors that support our protective operations."
The robotic dogs are not the only security measures observed at Trump's beachfront property. According to Nexstar, a Coast Guard boat mounted with rifles is stationed in the lagoon outside Mar-a-Lago.
Robot dogs do not appear to be new technology for the Secret Service, as the agency highlighted a "high-tech hound" during the NATO Summit in Washington, D.C., in July. In a video showcasing the hound, a scientist named Angela said the dog is named for the ASTRO program, which stands for "Autonomous Systems and Technical Robotic Operation."
She said the robot's functions, including "a biological rad and nuke," allow the mechanical hound to detect threats and report them to the Secret Service agent remotely operating the robot. In addition, the high-tech hound was outfitted with thermal technology and high-resolution zoom capabilities.
"I'm kind of excited to see what's going to come out as it continues to progress forward," she said. "With just a quick download, the robot just continues to get better with every software update."
The U.S. Secret Service did not immediately respond to The Christian Post's request for comment.
Trump faced two assassination attempts this year. The first attempt occurred during a July rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, while the second involved a man with an AK-style rifle near the Trump International Golf Club in Florida.
The U.S. Department of Justice charged an Iranian man with planning Trump's murder ahead of the election. The man, 51-year-old Farhad Shakeri, is an Afghan national believed to reside in Iran. Two other men, Carlisle Rivera and Jonathon Loadholt, were also charged for plotting to kill an Iranian American journalist critical of Iran's regime.
According to the criminal complaint, a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps instructed Shakeri in September to "put aside his other efforts on behalf of the IRGC and focus on surveilling, and, ultimately, assassinating, former President of the United States, Donald J. Trump."
The IRGC official told Shakeri during an October to provide a plan within seven days to kill Trump, referred to as "Victim-4" in the document. If Shakeri could not propose a plan by the deadline, then the IRGC would wait until after the election to kill Trump. The official expected Trump to lose the election and believed this would make it easier to kill him.
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
