September 2024 TorchStone Global Monthly Executive Protection Report
TorchStone Global believes that broader situational awareness and intelligence are key to providing quality executive protection—whether the principal is a Fortune 500 CEO, international celebrity, or local city council member. With that in mind, we are launching our monthly executive protection report, cataloging incidents we have captured through our open-source searches that are relevant to the practice of executive protection. We hope the report will serve as a centralized source of threat activity to provide insight into current trends in threats to high-profile individuals.
For more information on customized threat tracking for at-risk individuals, threat assessments, executive protection, or other security services, please contact us.
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Summary
The TorchStone Executive Protection Report tracked 18 domestic and 11 international security incidents or updates to prior incidents impacting high-profile individuals during the month of September 2024.
- Security incidents at all levels of government continued to highlight the threat of politically motivated violence in the United States as the election approaches in November. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was the target of a second assassination attempt in less than two months, a Democratic Party campaign office in Tempe was targeted by gunfire on two occasions, Arkansas approved an expansion of security for Gov. Sanders, and the city of Springfield, OH received multiple threats after it took the spotlight in the Presidential debate over allegations of immigrants eating pets. TorchStone expects threats to government officials and offices to grow in October as the Nov 5 election approaches. Lessons from the 2020 election suggest that threats will continue at least through the ballot counting phase, as well.
- The threat of arbitrary detention in China and its threats to business continuity remain after Beijing banned a Taiwanese business executive from leaving the country. There have been no public charges or accusations against the executive. The detention came shortly after Beijing issued a series of threats against people promoting Taiwanese independence and praised the establishment of a hotline to pass along tips about people who are suspected of supporting an independent Taiwan. It’s not clear if these factors contributed to the detention, but Taiwan has cautioned its citizens about travel to China.
- Spanish officials arrested a gang that was impersonating actor Brad Pitt as part of an online scam that defrauded two women of at least $356,000. The scammers had done extensive research to identify vulnerable women, convinced them that they were involved in a romantic relationship with the actor, and convinced them to invest in various projects that ultimately funneled money back to the criminal operation. In addition to defrauding online victims, such scams also pose a threat to the celebrities they target, as angry victims have been known to seek revenge from the actual celebrity once they discover the fraud.
Business Executive
| Location: Shanghai, China | Tactic: Harassment | Venue: Other Restricted Area |
September 18, 2024: An unidentified senior executive from Formosa Plastics Group is the subject of an exit ban put in place by Chinese authorities, Taiwanese officials confirmed on September 18. The exact reason for the exit ban is not clear. The executive was pulled aside for additional questioning by Chinese immigration officials when he arrived in Shanghai on September 1 on a flight from Taipei. His employer confirmed that the executive is “safe, free to move around, and cooperating with the Chinese authorities.” The exit ban highlights Taiwan’s warning to citizens to use caution when traveling to China due to arbitrary detention and politically motivated harassment.
Celebrity
| Location: Eldoret, Kenya | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Home |
May 5, 2024: Ugandan Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei died due to multiple organ failure caused by severe burns after her boyfriend poured petrol on her and set her on fire in Kenya. The incident occurred during a dispute over a house she owned, just weeks after her participation in the Paris Olympics. Cheptegei sustained burns to 80% of her body and succumbed to her injuries four days later. Her tragic death has prompted calls for justice and has drawn attention to the issue of violence against female athletes in Kenya. The boyfriend who was also injured in the incident, is under investigation by Kenyan authorities.
| Location: Colwood, British Columbia, Canada | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Home |
September 2, 2024: Canadian-Punjabi musician AP Dhillon’s home in Colwood, British Columbia came under fire from gang members. The home sustained minor damages, but two vehicles in the driveway caught on fire. Though Dhillon himself was not home at the time of the shooting, a fellow musician, Shinda Kahlon, was present and unharmed. According to India Today, the Lawrence Bishnoi – Rohit Godara gang claimed responsibility for the attack, having previously targeted Dhillon for his affiliation with actor Salman Khan.
| Location: New York, NY | Tactic: Harassment | Venue: Other Restricted Area |
September 3, 2024: Chinese tennis player Zheng Qinwen was subject to racist harassment from a spectator during her Round of 16 match at the US Open. The heckler repeatedly chanted the slur, “yellow banana” at various points throughout the match, eliciting reactions from both Zheng and her coach. Of note is that the same slur was chanted at another Chinese athlete, Liang Jingkun, at the earlier World Table Tennis Championships in Texas.
| Location: London, UK | Tactic: Harassment | Venue: Other Restricted Area |
September 7, 2024: Punjabi musician Karan Aujla had a shoe thrown at him in the middle of a performance at the O2 Arena in London. In frustration, Aujla briefly paused the performance and verbally lashed out at the person who threw the shoe. Security quickly identified the offending audience member and removed them from the premises. The intent behind their actions remains ambiguous.
| Location: London, UK | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Other Restricted Area |
September 8, 2024: Police are investigating a bomb threat at the West End theatre where Amanda Abbington is performing her play, following allegations of bullying professional dancer Giovanni Pernice. The threat is believed to be linked to her complaint that comes amid a series of bullying accusations, prompting concerns about fan backlash. Abbington has also received a death threat via email, warning her to withdraw her complaint, leading to increased security measures at the venue.
| Location: Los Angeles, CA | Tactic: Other Crime | Venue: Home |
September 10, 2024: LAPD responded to reports of a home invasion at the residence of NFL athlete Reggie Bush located in the Encino neighborhood that occurred around 11 pm. Law enforcement reported that the suspect(s) entered by smashing a back window, a tactic commonly used in the recent wave of home burglaries in upscale L.A. neighborhoods. Mr. Bush, who was at the residence during the break-in, yelled at the suspect(s), causing them to flee without incident. The Encino home is gated and reportedly equipped with a security camera system.
| Location: Los Angeles, CA | Tactic: Stalking | Venue: Home |
September 10, 2024: Singer Chappell Roan revealed in a Rolling Stone interview that she has hired private security in response to a stalker. The development came after Ms. Roan criticized aggressive fan behavior. Ms. Roan also canceled several scheduled performances later in the month citing mental health concerns.
| Location: Los Angeles, CA | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Home |
September 13, 2024: LAPD officers responded to reports of shots fired around 4:30 pm near the Bel Air home of Southern California fitness influencer and gym-chain owner Miguel Angel Aguilar. According to police, four men approached Aguilar near his residence near the 11400 block of North Thurston Circle, demanded his Rolex watch, and shot him before fleeing the scene. Paramedics rushed Mr. Aguilar to the hospital, where he was hospitalized in critical condition.
| Location: Los Angeles, CA | Tactic: Harassment | Venue: Home |
September 21, 2024: Jennifer Aniston was the target of a swatting incident, prompting a police visit to her Los Angeles home. The LAPD received a call from an unidentified male expressing concern for a friend, whom he did not name but claimed was “not doing well,” providing Aniston’s address. When the officers arrived, they were met by her security team, who informed them of the situation. After confirming Aniston’s safety, the LAPD classified the call as a swatting prank. This incident places Aniston among several other celebrities, who have experienced similar hoaxes. Authorities are attempting to identify the caller responsible for the prank.
| Location: Madrid, Spain | Tactic: Other Crime | Venue: Communication Channels |
September 23, 2024: Spanish officials arrested five individuals and investigated ten more linked to a criminal organization that defrauded two women out of €325,000 using a scheme known as the “false Brad Pitt.” The operation spanned several provinces in Spain. Authorities recovered €85,000 of the total amount stolen and executed five home searches, seizing multiple phones, bank cards, prepaid phone cards, two personal computers, and documentation revealing the scammers’ tactics. The investigation began in August 2023 after scammers had posed as Brad Pitt through a fake fan platform, manipulating the victims into believing they were in romantic relationships with the actor and persuading them to invest in various projects. The scammers had profiled their victims based on their social media activity, identifying them as vulnerable individuals. In addition to defrauding online victims, such scams also pose a threat to the celebrities they target, as angry victims have been known to seek revenge from the actual celebrity once they discover the fraud.
Federal Government
| Location: Moroni, Comoros | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Public Area |
September 13, 2024: An assailant armed with a knife wounded Comoros President Azali Assoumani while he was attending a religious leader’s funeral near the capital, Moroni. Witnesses reported that the attacker stabbed the president in the hand before being subdued by one of the mourners. The motive for the attack remains unclear, and the suspect has been arrested.
| Location: West Palm Beach, FL | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Public Area |
September 15, 2024: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was unharmed in the second assassination attempt targeting him in two months. Authorities arrested a man who had concealed himself in the bushes along the perimeter of a golf course Mr. Trump was playing on at the time. A Secret Service agent advancing the golf course noticed the gun barrel and fired on the suspect, forcing him to flee. The suspect faces charges of attempted assassination. According to his indictment, the suspect possessed a list of dates and locations of the former president’s scheduled appearances and had spent approximately a month in the West Palm Beach area, possibly conducting surveillance ahead of his attack. The suspect currently faces charges of attempted assassination and is awaiting trial.
| Location: Anchorage, AK | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
September 18, 2024: Authorities arrested an Alaskan man and charged him with threatening to assault, kidnap, and murder six U.S. Supreme Court justices and their family members. The 76-year-old suspect is linked to 465 violent messages directed at the Supreme Court justices since March 2023. Authorities said that the messages had grown increasingly violent since January 2024.
| Location: Pretoria, South Africa | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Home |
September 24, 2024: The People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) reported that its president, Mlungisi Makhanya, was hospitalized after being poisoned in South Africa on Tuesday. PUDEMO noted that he was under security protection but provided no further details about his condition. According to officials, Makhanya was served poisoned food and then locked in his bedroom by an unidentified cook. A case of attempted murder has been opened, and investigators are pursuing several leads, though no arrests have been made yet.
| Location: Clearwater, FL | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
September 26, 2024: Federal authorities unsealed an indictment charging a former congressional candidate of threatening to kill his primary opponent during the 2021 election for the 13th Congressional District of Florida. The accused man allegedly threatened to “call up [his] Russian-Ukrainian hit squad” and make his opponent “disappear” during phone calls in June 2021. The accused was recently deported from the Philippines to the United States and made his first court appearance on September 26 in Los Angeles.
| Location: Dublin, Ireland | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
September 29, 2024: Gardaí responded to a bomb threat at the home of the justice minister after a caller claimed that explosives had been planted there. A search found no such explosives and authorities determined it was a hoax. The caller claimed to be a prisoner at Dublin’s Mountjoy Prison. Last year, a man was sentenced to prison for making a hoax bomb threat against the same justice minister, but the most recent case does not appear to be related.
| Location: Khartoum, Sudan | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Home |
September 30, 2024: Sudanese army aircraft attacked the residence of the UAE ambassador to Sudan’s residence, causing significant damage to the building. The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the attack and called for the Sudanese army to assume full responsibility. The foreign ministry did not elaborate on the ambassador’s status or whether he was present during the attack.
State Government
| Location: Gympie, Australia | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
September 7, 2024: Authorities have charged a local man for stalking a Queensland, Australia State MP and illegal possession of explosives and drugs. Police accuse the man of stalking the state MP from August 18 to September 7.
| Location: Millersville, TN | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
September 11, 2024: On his Patriot Streetfighter podcast, Scott McKay made veiled threats against a judge, district attorney, and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agents involved in the recent arrest of a Millersville assistant police chief who subscribed to conspiracy theories. McKay, who also subscribes to Qanon conspiracy theories, suggested that “We’re going to beat the sh*t out of their character,” emphasizing verbal actions to avoid accusations of physical threats. Supporters of the assistant police chief repeat his claims that he was in the process of uncovering a vast, international conspiracy with links to Washington, D.C., and China. State authorities are investigating whether he misused sensitive law enforcement data.
| Location: Little Rock, AR | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
September 19, 2024: Arkansas lawmakers approved a $1.2 million funding request from Arkansas State Police to bolster Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ security detail. The request for increased funds came a month after a woman had threatened to build a bomb and detonate it in Gov. Sanders’ office.
Local Government
| Location: Buffalo, NY | Tactic: Harassment | Venue: Public Area |
September 1, 2024: Police arrested a Buffalo man and charged him with causing damages to City Hall and threatening the mayor. The suspect faces accusations of damaging multiple exterior doors and at least 12 glass windows at City Hall with a hammer around 6:30 p.m. As police were taking the suspect into custody, he made several threatening comments targeting the mayor, leading to additional charges.
| Location: Springfield, OH | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Other Restricted Area |
September 12, 2024: Springfield City Hall had to evacuate after receiving a bomb threat. City officials blamed a spate of threats against city properties after recent accusations that immigrants there are eating dogs and cats. The threat came in via email and claimed that multiple other buildings and agencies had been targeted. Authorities did not detect any actual threat.
| Location: Upper Merion, PA | Tactic: Harassment | Venue: Home |
September 16, 2024: The Republican municipal chair in Upper Merion Township, Pennsylvania, Matthew McCaffery, said his home was targeted in a swatting attack shortly after he endorsed Democratic Presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, during an appearance on CNN. An unidentified suspect emailed the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement officials the evening of Aug. 16, claiming that there was a hostage situation at McCaffery’s home. Police searched McCaffery and the home before ruling the call a hoax.
| Location: Whitesburg, KY | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Other Restricted Area |
September 19, 2024: Authorities arrested Letcher County Sheriff, Mickey Stines, and charged him with first-degree murder in the lethal shooting of a district judge. Investigators determined that the sheriff shot the judge after a heated argument in the judge’s chambers. The sheriff surrendered immediately after the shooting.
| Location: Provo, Utah | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
September 19, 2024: A Utah man was charged with threatening retaliatory actions against a judge after filing a motion in an unrelated case for the judge to be “hung at high noon.” The suspect accused the judge of treason during a hearing on charges of illegal firearm possession, child endangerment, and possession of illegal drugs.
| Location: Las Vegas, NV | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Other Restricted Area |
September 20, 2024: A Clark County District Court judge recused herself from the sentencing of a convicted murderer after receiving a letter threatening her and a key witness in the trial. The letter came from a Nevada Department of Corrections inmate claiming that the convicted murderer had offered the inmate payment to kill the judge and the witness if he was found guilty.
| Location: Santa Maria, CA | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Other Restricted Area |
September 25, 2024: Police arrested a Santa Maria man after he detonated a homemade explosive device at the security entrance to the Santa Maria superior court building on September 25 at approximately 9 am. The blast injured five people, forced an evacuation of the building and closed nearby City Hall for the remainder of the day. None of the injuries were life-threatening. Authorities accuse the suspect of intending to target the judge he was scheduled to appear before for a trial on a previous weapons charge.
| Location: Eugene, OR | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
September 26, 2024: A Eugene resident is the subject of an international investigation into email threats sent to London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan. According to Oregon State Police logs, the threatening emails were traced back to a computer at the University of Oregon used by the suspect. The suspect has a long criminal record of engaging in telephonic harassment, stalking, and assault.
Community Leader
| Location: Washington, D.C. | Tactic: Harassment | Venue: Public Area |
September 6, 2024: Two anti-Israel protesters interrupted a book tour event for CNN political correspondent, Dana Bash, at Washington, D.C.’s Politics and Prose bookstore. The protesters accused Ms. Bash of being complicit in Israeli genocide and lying to people in her news coverage. Video footage of the event showed Metro police officers escorting the first protester out, only for a second protester to continue to disrupt the event.
| Location: Tempe, AZ | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Office |
September 16 & 23, 2024: Tempe Police are investigating multiple incidents of shots fired at a Democratic Party campaign office. On two dates over the past month, unknown individuals shot out windows at the office. Nobody has been hurt in the incidents, but they have caused property damage.