A retired New York City police officer was arrested for assaulting and resisting Secret Service agents near the Trump Tower in Manhattan.
Anthony Shark, 54, was taken into custody outside of the Trump Tower on Fifth Ave. and E. 56th St. on the night of Aug. 2 after he refused Secret Service directives to leave a secured area that was cordoned off for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s approaching motorcade.
Shark—who was armed and had a permit to carry a concealed weapon—attempted to push through a “human wall” formed by Secret Service agents and became combative.
Citing officials, the New York Daily News reported that Shark, however, was intoxicated and wasn’t planning to shoot Trump.
Shark attempted “to push through the [United States Secret Service] agents that were blocking his path,” according to the complaint, reported the New York Daily News. “USSS agents attempted to restrain Shark whereupon he resisted, flailing his arms, clenching his fists, and grabbing at agents.”
The complaint added, “While resisting USSS agents, Shark repeatedly grabbed at and held on to at least one USSS agent.”
During his arraignment at a Manhattan federal court on Wednesday, his lawyer said Shark posed no imminent threat to Trump or others.
“He’s not a danger to the community in any respect,” defense lawyer Annalisa Miron told U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses, reported The Associated Press. The court-appointed lawyer stated Shark needed his weapon for his security job at the Harry Winston jewelry store.
Moses ordered Shark to stay away from the Trump Tower, and he agreed. He was released on his own recognizance and can keep his gun for his security job.
Prosecutors also wanted him to stay away from nearby streets, but his defense lawyer said it wasn’t necessary. “Can I trust you to stay away from the Secret Service?” Moses asked Shark. “Yes,” he replied, according to Newsday.
He charged with one count of assaulting and resisting a Secret Service agent. If convicted, he could face as many as eight years in prison.
This incident comes one month after Trump promised to heighten security measures around the skyscraper.
“It’s true. And the residents love it because it was already the best building in New York, and it will be even more secure,” Trump told the New York Post’s Page Six.
