I saw the news about the “hunting stand” with a sight line to the area where Trump boards Air Force One. My first thought was this was an actual hunting stand.
Until I looked at satellite pictures of the area, that is. Here is the satellite picture of the area in question. Trump’s plane is circled in blue, the area where the tree stand was found is circled in red:
There isn’t anywhere to hunt in the area. The stand is next to an Army Reserve center and the Palm Beach County jail, and right behind the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Forensics center.
The distance from the tree to Trump’s plane is just under 600 yards. I can’t tell what the exact sight line is, but that’s a fairly long shot. Doable, yes, but the number of people who can make that is much smaller than anything we’ve seen yet. They missed Trump at 100 yards and hit Kirk at 150 yards, but 600 yards is much, much more difficult.
29 Comments
mike fink · October 20, 2025 at 9:06 pm
Had the same thought, looked at the same Sat photo. Definitely not a legitimate hunting location. The city also has a firearm discharge ordinance. There are those among the enemy working full time for another shot at Trump.
Divemedic · October 21, 2025 at 5:30 am
If it WERE a hunting area, I could even go with bow hunting, but there is no way a dry retention pond next to an airport, a jail, a highway, and an Army reserve center is a hunting area.
None Other · October 21, 2025 at 8:59 am
With all the government buildings around there, the highway, and the surveillance cameras that I’m sure are everywhere, how did anyone even get in there to set up a tree stand in the 1st place? This wasn’t some psycho nut job. There is no way this happened without lots of help. But I wonder who in the FBI will even investigate this.
Divemedic · October 21, 2025 at 11:59 am
Can’t watch everywhere, all of the time.
Robert · October 20, 2025 at 9:33 pm
Thank you for the maps and pictures. Yours is the clearest presentation of the site I have seen.
And my unavoidable conclusion is that, yes, this was a site prepared for an assassination attempt. There is no valid hunting purpose in that site. If it was truly constructed “months ago”, then it was most likely part of a project abandoned, because the organizers could not find a skilled enough shooter to make the shot work.
And the Secret Service was doing a proper job of checking the perimeter. They have stepped up their game since the Butler debacle.
As you said, a 600-yard shot is quite a bit more difficult than a 150-yard shot. A volunteer amateur (the infamous “lone wolf”) could not succeed at this. An experienced professional shooter could make it work, but a professional would know it would be a suicide mission. If he was not tracked down and killed by the US government, he would be quite possibly killed by his organizing group in order to tidy up “loose ends”. That severely limits the available candidates and makes getting the right person to the right place at the right time much more difficult.
I hope the FBI can be directed to find the builders of this site.
Divemedic · October 21, 2025 at 5:32 am
I think about some lefty, having watched Marky Mark in The Shooter, out in the woods near his house, shooting at cans of stew for practice while trying to figure out paper patching.
Old Maine Farmer · October 21, 2025 at 8:45 am
We of the older generation think of former military snipers as conservatives, but that is an old paradigm. For the years of Obama and Biden many lefties learned solid sniper skills in the military, and then move on to alphabet agencies. There are plenty of murder for hire people with the right skills who would do such a thing out of ego, and then their buddies in the agencies would cover for them. Sadly I believe many in the FBI (or CIA) would be capable and willing to do such a thing, and then the same FBI wickeds would come in and ‘investigate’ like they did for other shootings (Kennedys, etc.). Someone like Marky Mark the Shooter would be hauled in and all the media would announce his guilt, and that would be that.
Beans · October 20, 2025 at 9:33 pm
600 yards Ea man-sized target (and Trump’s a big guy) with a hunting rifle with a decent scope? Especially if a semi-auto? Easy-Peasy.
And that’s not acknowledging the really big target, that being AF1 itself. Random plinking of the engines or the cockpit are excellent ways to stop that thing from flying. Even worse, take an engine or two out during takeoff.
The positive thing in that photo, of course, is “President Donald J. Trump Blvd.”
Divemedic · October 21, 2025 at 5:36 am
For someone with practice? Maybe. To get a lethal hit to the chest at 600 yards is a 2 MOA shot. That takes a bit more practice than 100 yards. The shot is also being taken cold bore at a moving target over a highway, with vehicles passing underneath, which complicates air currents.
This is a much harder shot than many (especially new) shooters are capable of.
Old Maine Farmer · October 21, 2025 at 8:47 am
It would not be as easy as you suggest to take down Air Force One via sniper. Not easy at all. They would be aiming at humans.
Birdog357 · October 21, 2025 at 3:13 am
Setting aside the challenge of the shot itself, there’s ZERO legitimate reason for that stand to exist…
Old Maine Farmer · October 21, 2025 at 4:09 am
It doesn’t look like the kind of place one would want to hunt; can’t imagine many deer wandering around there. Nor would gunfire go over very well there. As for a 600 yd shot, I suspect the folks who want the President dead have someone who can easily do such a shot. In my back pasture we used to have targets out to 400 yards, and we had quite a few guys who could hit a dinner plate target with accuracy at that distance, but none of them are murderers. With the right gun and the guy with the right experience, I could see an assassination being plotted from there. You would need a stable shot from that distance, so you would need a platform like that. Let us hope that the deer stand was just something some kid built out of boredom, but then I don’t see that area as too kid friendly either.
Barefoot Peckerwood · October 21, 2025 at 6:46 am
With practice 600yds is not a very hard shot. Its the ability.to regulate your breathing, heart rate and control of the adrenaline dump that is what’s a challenge. But with a lot of classes and range time, it’s a very doable shot
Divemedic · October 21, 2025 at 7:53 am
Where did I say it was impossible?
I said its a difficult skill, and it takes time and effort to develop.
Firearms aren’t easy to master.
Barefoot Peckerwood · October 21, 2025 at 10:54 am
Never said it was impossible. But it’s not that difficult either with range time and proper equipment. Some of thenleft trains the same as we do….
SmileyFtW · October 21, 2025 at 8:00 am
What if this is turns out to be some kids that made a treehouse? “Save the Life of My Child” Simon & Garfunkel…
Divemedic · October 21, 2025 at 8:40 am
The nearest neighborhood is half a mile away and separated from the area by a very busy road.
SmileyFtW · October 21, 2025 at 9:32 am
There appears to be two quite large housing developments on either side of the golf course that could easily access the tree stand area without having to cross a busy street. There is one four-lane street that has crosswalks so it isn’t inconceivable for there to be a simpler explanation. There is Lytal Park also close by.
I am simply saying that there could be another answer to how the platform came to be. Everyone seems to have settled on the “sniper perch”…
“he flew away”… “oh my grace, I’ve got no hiding place”…
And to also agree that the shot from there would be a low percentage proposition one would think that there are other better suited locations from ease of shot and avenues of egress.
Luwanee · October 21, 2025 at 8:49 am
Check out some of the amateurs that shoot long range. A 14 year old girl shot a sub one inch group at 600 yards with one flyer short of a record. I would move the security area out to at least 1000 yards.
Divemedic · October 21, 2025 at 11:59 am
Yes, it is possible, but not easy. Remember that 1000 yards is 3 times the area as 600 yards. Even the Feds have a finite amount of manpower.
Sardaukar · October 21, 2025 at 11:42 am
If it was me running security, I would not have released the news about the perch, but staked it out with hidden cameras and have a react team standing by whenever AF One is scheduled to be there, grab the shooter and put him on a quick flight to Club Gitmo.
That said, there currently are so many 5th columnist’s in the government that it’s likely best it hit the news.
Divemedic · October 21, 2025 at 12:02 pm
The report was that they watched it for a period of time and no one showed up. That in itself is significant. Perhaps the persons setting it up knew it was being watched. Inside information?
Cederq · October 21, 2025 at 11:47 am
I finally figured it out, it is a snipe hunting stand. you sit very quietly with your flashlight and burlap bag to capture one of those rascally, elusive creatures. At 67 I am still trying to bag my first one…
Divemedic · October 21, 2025 at 12:03 pm
That’s because you are too far off the ground. Everyone knows snipes are ground creatures and don’t climb trees.
TMF Bert · October 21, 2025 at 1:40 pm
The current record according to
Guinness World Records for a drone is just under 300mph. At 200 mph a drone will cover 100 yards per second.
How many pounds of military grade explosives came across our southern border while joe was asleep at the wheel?
Most have seen footage of the weaponized FPS drones coming out of the Ukraine conflict of the slow moving variety.
A rifle is an obsolete system compared to a dozen such devices launched from around the perimeter at a target the size of a 747. Imagine a cluster of flying claymore’s at 200mph inbound to the target area coming from all points on the compass.
Our enemies would consider it justified and celebrate in the streets.
Divemedic · October 21, 2025 at 3:09 pm
If it was a drone, a tree stand with a direct, unobstructed line of sight isn’t necessary.
Birdog357 · October 21, 2025 at 6:51 pm
The stand would be for BDA after the fact.
Neil · October 21, 2025 at 6:33 pm
Looks like a lot of 747 in the way.
Divemedic · October 22, 2025 at 4:56 am
That satellite picture isn’t real time.
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