Secret Service Director Sean Curran said threats against the agency's full-time protectees are up "just over 40%" compared with last year, calling it "a massive increase." He made the statement in a joint interview with Deputy Director Matthew Quinn on CBS's "60 Minutes," with host Norah O'Donnell. The interview aired Sunday, according to the sources, which were published around Oct. 11-12, 2026. The sources do not specify where the interview was recorded.
Curran said there have been 10,000 threats against the people the agency protects since January. "It's like we've never seen before," he said. CBS described it as the first joint interview by Curran, a 25-year agency veteran and the 28th director, and Quinn.
Asked what is behind the rise, Curran pointed to the internet and social media. "People are more accessible. Information is more accessible," he said. "Social media changes people." Quinn said the biggest factor is mental health issues and that "more people are being pushed over the edge in either direction."
O'Donnell asked whether President Donald Trump, whom she called one of the most polarizing political figures in American history, was driving the increase. Curran replied that the Secret Service is "an apolitical organization." Asked whether more threats come from the left or the right, he said the agency does not "weigh it that way" and investigates every threat. O'Donnell cited Center for Strategic and International Studies research showing left-wing attacks exceeded right-wing attacks in 2025 for the first time in 30 years. That trend has reversed this year, with more attacks coming from the right so far.
The officials also discussed threats from abroad. CBS reported the country is eight months into a war with Iran, and that Iranian leaders have vowed revenge for the killing of their supreme leader. Quinn said banners reading "Kill President Trump" were visible at a funeral broadcast on TV and that the threat environment has increased, but he declined to detail changes in tactics.
Quinn is leading a multimillion-dollar program to develop offensive and defensive drone capabilities. "Swarms are a huge problem and a big threat," he said, adding the problem is not solved, though he called the White House the safest place on Earth. CBS reported that the Secret Service used electronic jamming to take down a drone at the December Army-Navy game. Curran was the lead agent protecting Trump at the 2024 Butler, Pennsylvania, rally, and the agency has faced scrutiny since. Fox News reported that Curran addressed a reported Air Force One decoy plane switch in August, and that three officials were placed on leave that month.
