Secret Service ‘monitoring’ threat environment ahead of Asia-Pacific summit

Leaders of nations from the Pacific region will gather in San Francisco for the 2023 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in San Francisco next week — and the U.S. Secret Service has a plan to thwart threats amid heightened international tensions.

With wars ongoing in multiple regions across the globe and an elevated threat environment, leaders from the Secret Service — the agency responsible for securing the event — say they are taking no chances.

“We’re always monitoring the current environment and potential threats,” Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle told ABC News in an interview. “We have seen, obviously, over the last several years groups or demonstrators or individuals that will use large scale events to garner attention or to have an audience to get their point across, and so Secret Service, we obviously respect the right of people to peacefully demonstrate.”

The Secret Service is working with the FBI and other agencies that receive intelligence and will “adjust our security posture accordingly” to coordinate with local law enforcement, Cheatle said.

Read more: ABC News