County says Trump airport name-change has prompted 5,000 'security threats,' complaints – WPEC
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by Eric Weiss
PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) — Palm Beach County officials say more than 5,000 comments and complaints about the renaming of Palm Beach International Airport have prompted dozens of referrals to law enforcement — but county administrators later clarified that none has been determined to be a credible threat.
During an Aug. 25 Palm Beach County Commission meeting, Legislative Affairs Director Alessandro Marchesani said the county had received 5,000 “security threats” since the airport’s name change and that 46 were deemed credible enough to investigate.
But County Administrator Joseph Abruzzo later said the number represented comments and complaints received since Jan. 1, many opposing the renaming to President Donald J. Trump International Airport. More than 40 communications were referred to local and federal law enforcement “out of an abundance of caution” because they were concerning or hostile, Abruzzo said.
“As of today, the County has not been advised by law enforcement that any of those communications has been determined to constitute a credible threat,” Abruzzo said in a statement.
The clarification came after Marchesani’s comments to commissioners during a legislative update. He said the airport needs additional security measures, including fencing, cameras, bollards and other improvements, and that county staff are pursuing funding.
“We are also working on that funding as well,” Marchesani said.
Commissioner Marci Woodward asked whether the state had taken steps to help cover the cost of those security measures.
“Has the state made any movement helping us pay for those things?” Woodward asked.
Marchesani replied, “We should have an update very soon.”
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The discussion came as the county continues implementing the state-mandated airport renaming. Marchesani said the legislation gave the county time to complete a trademark agreement and replace signage, rather than requiring every change to be finished by July 1.
“The name change wasn’t effective July 1 for the signage to be changed,” Marchesani said. “We could take as much time as we needed to design [and] do all the necessary steps to install the changes that need to be made.”
The state has provided $2.75 million toward the estimated $5.5 million renaming cost, Marchesani said, and the county is seeking the remaining $2.75 million.
Airport security has been a recurring issue at the facility. A 2023 CBS12 News I-Team investigation found security-camera gaps in long-term parking areas; the airport later installed cameras in the long-term garage after the report.
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