They added: “He has resisted such measures before as he doesn’t like to seem like a paranoid celebrity, but the reality is he is a kidnapping, torture and assassination target now thanks to his repeated attacks on Trump.
“Some of the MAGA-backing elements are extremelty dangerous, and he knows it.”
De Niro, 81, once reportedly had a furious real estate dispute with his now ex-wife Grace Hightower in 2001.
The pair were said to have disagreed about where to rent while their home was being renovated.
They explored a luxury apartment at One57, but Hightower was apparently not keen on the high elevation and was “confused” by the panic room.
But De Niro is facing “no such confusion” now they are no longer an item, our insider said.
They added: “He’s gong to protect himself and his family for years to come, and if that means scaring them a bit with a panic room installation, then so be it.”
A record number of New York elites are having panic rooms installed in their homes, which can cost anything from $50,000 to $1million.
They come with electrified door knobs and walls that shoot pepper spray.
Madonna, Sir Paul McCartney and Joan Rivers are among the A-listers known to have had panic rooms installed.
Known as “safe spaces” among their salespeople, security experts have said America’s fractured political climate and the likes of the George Floyd murder – which ignited the Black Lives Matter protests – have sent business booming for the shelters.
