Secret Service 'received intel on Iranian plot to assassinate Trump' and increased security around him weeks before he was shot at rally

Donald Trump's Secret Service security was increased in the weeks ahead of the assassination attempt due to intelligence of an alleged plot by Iran to take out the former president.

A human source informed U.S. officials of the plot, according to a new report from CNN.

It does not appear at the current time that shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks is connected to the Iranian plot. 

Crooks, 20, shot Trump in the ear at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday before he was taken out by U.S. Secret Service.

The new report of enhanced security around the former president could raise even more questions after Republican outcry ensued on how Secret Service failed to detect the would-be assassin before he opened fire at the rally.  

Ever since the attack that took out Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Qasem Soleimani, Iran has vowed revenge. The attack took place under Trump's presidency in January 2020.

Officials who worked on national security in Trump's administration have had tight security teams since then.

U.S. authorities were provided intelligence from a source in recent weeks detailing the Iranian plot to assassinate Trump, multiple people briefed on the situation told CNN.

In a statement on Sunday, Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement that the agency recently 'added protective resources and capabilities to the former President's security detail.'

Trump's campaign has received multiple warnings more recently about their outdoor rallies because it poses higher risks than indoor events that have controlled access points to the venue.

But sources claim these warnings were more general in nature and did not specifically disclose the threat from Iran.

Saturday's assassination attempt on Trump does not appear to be connected to the Iranian plan to carry out their own attacks against the former president and now officially the 2024 Republican presidential nominee. 

Crooks was a registered Republican who in 2021 donated to a group backing President Joe Biden. He graduated high school in 2022 in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania and was described as a loner who was bullied.

The gunman was neutralized by agents seconds after he shot Trump in the ear.

He killed one rally goer, former fire chief and father-of-two Corey Comperatore, 50, and critically injured two others – David Dutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74.