HOUSTON — Vice President Kamala Harris will be speaking to thousands of people Thursday at the American Federation of Teachers national convention.
As you would expect, security will be tight, especially in the wake of the attempted assassination of Former President Donald Trump.
Former Secret Service Agent Anthony Cangelosi said major mistakes were made at Trump's campaign rally in Pennsylvania. But, despite that, he believes the assets and methodology used by the Secret Service for decades won't really change.
He spent four years with the Secret Service in the early 2000s, but Cangelosi now works as a professor and lecturer at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.
During the 2004 presidential election, Cangelosi worked on an advance team responsible for scoping out locations ahead of a candidate's appearance.
Like the Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, he said it has always been protocol to work closely with local law enforcement agencies.
"We have more experience in this, but my experience is when you communicate clearly to the local offices about what their duties and responsibilities are for this post or that post, that usually works out really well," he said. "Where the Secret Service -- their skill set is truly needed -- is in the advance work, on the venue. Looking for the vulnerabilities."
He said the same was done at venues ahead of Harris' Houston visit.
Cangelosi also said it's likely that more agents were assigned to guard the vice president who's looking to be nominated as the presidential candidate for the Democratic Party.
He also said that despite the setbacks, the agency has thwarted and disabled threats for decades and that people should not be afraid to attend political events.