EXCLUSIVE: I am a Former Navy SEAL. The FBI's Explanation of The Hunting Stand Uncovered at West Palm Beach Airport is Sketchy
There are concerns President Trump could have faced a serious threat while deboarding Air Force One in Florida.
Oct. 21 2025, Published 12:36 p.m. ET
A former Navy SEAL has exclusively told RadarOnline.com that something is not right with the FBI's explanation of the "suspicious" elevated platform they unearthed in a tree outside Palm Beach International Airport in Florida.
The airport is a common landing spot for President Trump during his weekend visits to the state, and officials revealed the stand would give someone a clear line of sight to Air Force One.
A hunting platform was found high in a tree outside Palm Beach International Airport.
FBI director Kash Patel called the platform a crude "hunting stand," often set up and left in wooded areas by bowhunters looking for a better vantage point.
However, this particular stand is nowhere near a heavily wooded area, and instead is just a tiny patch of grass with a few scattered trees in the middle of the city. Any animals in the area would likely stay away due to its proximity to the noisy airport.
Former Navy SEAL and avid hunter Carl Higbie questioned the FBI's handling of the investigation.
"It just seems to me a little sketchy with the whole location of this thing and how they discovered it," said Higbie, who also hosts a nightly news program on Newsmax.
Too Many Questions
The platform reportedly provided a clear view of the president.
Higbie reasoned: "You wouldn't put a hunting stand up where there’s no wildlife. Given the urban density of Palm Beach International Airport, and how close it was to the highway, there’s no wildlife coming through there."
Instead, Higbie worried that the position and vantage point of the platform could have put President Trump in real danger.
"I don’t know why they would have this for any other reason than nefarious purposes," he concluded.
Security Sweep of the Area
A former Navy SEAL said there was no way that platform could be used for hunting given its size and location.
Trump, 79, traveled to Florida on Friday and spent the weekend in West Palm Beach at his lavish golf resort. The platform was discovered during a security sweep of the area on Thursday.
Officials stress that, so far, the stand has not been linked to any one individual.
"This hunting stand was appropriately dismantled, it’s being flown to our lab," Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino told Fox News on Monday.
"I believe it’s there right now, and all of the forensic tools we have – from digital tools to biometric tools – they’re all going to be applied to try to find out who put this up there and why."
Trump in Trouble
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Newsmax host Carl Higbie is also an avid hunter.
The discovery comes just weeks after a Florida jury found Ryan Routh guilty on all charges related to his would-be assassination attempt on then-presidential candidate Trump in September 2024.
Routh was found guilty of attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, as well as assaulting the Secret Service agent who discovered him in the shrubbery near the fence line along the course on September 15, 2024.
He was also convicted of three federal gun charges after being found with an SKS-style rifle, and now faces life in prison.
And over the summer while on the campaign trail, Thomas Matthew Crooks nearly killed Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024.
Crooks fired at Trump from a rooftop several buildings away, with the bullet grazing Trump's ear as he made a last-second turn of his head towards a screen.
