Deputies keep Trump safe from oddballs

No, he’s not going to smoke pot with you; OT so far $6M

A man in possession of drugs wants to have a sit-down meeting with President Donald Trump while smoking a joint.

Another man in military fatigues shows up on a mission to deliver a message “about the war” to the commander in chief.

Two college students set up tombstones near a Trump golf club entrance sign.

These bizarre incidents and more have happened in Palm Beach County since Trump became president, according to law enforcement reports reviewed by the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Trump has made 17 visits to Mar-a-Lago since becoming president, and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office plays an im-

portant role in assisting the Secret Service in keeping him safe.

The Sheriff’s Office has racked up more than $6 million working overtime to complete the mission. The Sun Sentinel requested incident reports for Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Trump International Golf Club in suburban West Palm Beach and Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter. It also reviewed media reports of Trump-related incidents in South Florida.

None of the reports appear to detail serious threats to the president’s safety, but the overwhelming police presence doesn’t always deter mischief.

Despite the multitude of security at Mar-a-Lago, one employee drove into a checkpoint on Dec. 27 and then was caught spraying cologne in an attempt to cover the smell of marijuana in his car. Deputies found a small bag of marijuana and issued the man a notice to appear in court.

He asked for his marijuana back, but deputies refused.

A Mar-a-Lago security manager suspended the employee and told him not to return until contacted by the club’s administration, according to the report.

At least four people with erratic behavior traveled hundreds of miles and told deputies they had a meeting arranged with the president, according to the incident reports. Checks revealed no such meetings.

A 32-year-old Georgia man wearing military-style fatigues claimed on Feb. 6 he had an important message “about the war” to deliver to the president from Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. He told deputies he had traveled to the White House only to be turned away by Secret Service, then he sold his firearms to pay for his journey to Mar-a-Lago and that he was destined to marry Trump’s youngest daughter.

At Palm Beach International Airport, deputies arrested a 27-year-old Ohio man who told deputies he traveled to South Florida with the intention of smoking a joint with Trump for 4/20 — an unofficial potsmoking holiday — and having a “sit-down meeting with the president.”

Secret Service flagged the man at the airport based on comments he was making about the president. He told investigators he wanted to talk to Trump about the “static and frequency feedback” he hears in his head and from his basement.

“He had full intentions of driving to Mar-a-Lago and walking onto the property,” an investigator wrote.

Deputies arrested the man when they found methamphetamine in his bag, according to a report.

A California woman flew to South Florida and thought the Secret Service was going to pick her up at a West Palm Beach hotel and take her to see the president. When that didn’t happen, she took an Uber and arrived at a security tent on Feb. 18.

A fourth person showed up to Mar-a-Lago on Feb. 4 in a rental car, told deputies he had a meeting and then tried to leave as deputies determined he had no such meeting arranged.

Those incidents aren’t surprising, said Ronald Kessler, a best-selling author who wrote a book examining the inner workings of the Secret Service.

Citing agency sources, Kessler said Trump receives nine or 10 threats on a daily basis, a similar amount as his predecessor Barack Obama. Threats are placed in three categories — with category three being deemed the most serious, he said.

With a budget of $2 billion — half of which is focused on financial crimes — the Secret Service delivers a good value for taxpayers, considering a single new stealth bomber costs about as much as what’s spent annually on presidential protection, Kessler said.

“It’s nothing when you consider the devastation of an assassination, which nullifies democracy,” he said.

Deputies also have responded to at least 11 reports of trespassers at Trump’s golf club in suburban West Palm Beach.

Two students from Flagler College in St. Augustine were caught setting up tombstones near the entrance sign of the golf club bearing Trump’s name. One of the tombstones read, “RIP National Endowment for the Arts 1965-2018.” The students told deputies they were only working on a school art project, and they were issued a warning.

Deputies responded to one man who was standing at the corner cursing people driving into the golf club and waving his middle finger.

The club’s security found a person asleep on Feb. 20 on the golf course — when Trump was not in Palm Beach County. The man thought he was in New York and then asked if he was in the Keys.

A Pennsylvania couple — who said they voted for Trump — walked through open gates on Nov. 20, thinking the golf club was open to the public.

Media reports detail other incidents — not provided in public records requested by the Sun Sentinel. In February 2017, a middle schooler confessed to throwing a block of wood at the president’s motorcade.

On President’s Day weekend of this year, the driver of a news media van was briefly detained and then pulled off the job when a gun was found in his bag. Secret Service determined he was in lawful possession of the gun, and the driver told agents he had forgotten to leave it in his personal car.

Someone splattered red paint on March 31 on the entry sign at Trump’s golf club.

Trump has gone on record praising the Sheriff ’s Office, tweeting a photograph of himself with motorcycle deputies and writing, “Thank you to the incredible Law Enforcement Officers from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. They keep us safe and are very cool about it!”