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By Ewan Palmer
News Reporter
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Donald Trump's recent speech at the Bitcoin conference was delayed because of a minor "security breach," according to Tennessee Representative Andy Ogles.
Speaking to WZTV, Ogles said that two "suspicious people" resulted in him, the former president, and Trump's 17-year-old granddaughter Kai Trump being "trapped in a room together" until given the all clear.
Trump delivered a keynote address at the national Bitcoin conference in Nashville, Tennessee, on Saturday, two weeks after the assassination attempt against the former president at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13. The shooting reportedly resulted in the Republican nominee planning to stop holding outdoor rallies for the rest of his 2024 campaign events for safety reasons.
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Speaking about the incident, Ogles said: "I was backstage with the president. There was a security breach. There were two suspicious individuals and so myself, the president, his granddaughter Kai and a couple other folks literally were just kind of trapped in a room together."
A Secret Service spokesperson told WZTV's Kylie Walker that there was no threat to Trump, but that two "credentialed and screened individuals" were removed from the conference venue for not following proper entry protocols.
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As noted by Ogles, Trump even made a joke about the security operation carried out by the Secret Service when he opened his speech on stage at the Bitcoin conference on Saturday.
"Secret Service just told me 'sir, we would like a little more time.' I said you take all the time you want," Trump said.
"You can take two hours, three hours, to hell with all the people that have been waiting out here. But I'm sure they don't mind either."
Trump's team and the Secret Service have been contacted for comment via email.
Ogles was one of multiple Republican and Democratic members of Congress to call on former Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle to resign from her position in the wake of the assassination attempt against Trump.
In a July 22 letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, Ogles accused Cheatle of being "incapable of seeing the writing on the wall" after she was grilled for hours by lawmakers on the security failings that resulted in a gunman being able to open fire at the former president from a nearby rooftop at the Pennsylvania rally.
Cheatle resigned as director of the Secret Service on July 23, one day after she appeared in front of the House Oversight Committee.
"I take full responsibility for the security lapse," Cheatle wrote in her resignation letter to staff. "In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that I have made the difficult decision to step down as your director."
Ogles, who has been endorsed by Trump, will be competing in the GOP primary for Tennessee's 5th Congressional District on Thursday.
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