Secret Service Report Says These Failures Led Up To Trump Assassination Attempt In July

20 Sep 2024 by Antonio Pequeño IV · Forbes

Topline

The Secret Service was responsible for planning and communication failures that led to the shooting of former President Donald Trump in a July assassination attempt, according to an internal review of the agency’s security practices during the incident, which left one audience member dead and two others in critical condition.

The report was published Friday. (Photo by REBECCA DROKE/AFP via Getty Images)AFP via Getty Images

Key Facts

The report included new details and criticisms about the decision-making process that led to the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, being able to target Trump from an unguarded rooftop with a clear line of sight to the former president during the Butler, Pennsylvania, rally.

“Multiple law enforcement entities” were skeptical of the placement of a local sniper team positioned in the same complex from where Crooks fired, as the team did not have a clear view of the complex’s rooftops—”yet there was no follow-up discussion about modifying their position.”

Secret Service acting director Ronald L. Rowe Jr. said during a press conference Friday the agency “should have been more direct” with state and local law enforcement about what was needed to secure the area.

The report found local law enforcement was unaware of all active radio frequencies during the rally, leading to officers communicating with each other outside of Secret Service frequencies and attempting to relay information about Crooks to the Secret Service that was not received.

Trump’s security detail was not informed about "how focused state and local law enforcement were in the minutes leading up to the attack on locating the suspicious subject,” according to the report, which noted the detail could have relocated Trump had it known about the search for Crooks.

The report also found a counter drone device could have been used ahead of the rally to detect a drone Crooks used near the rally site hours before the event, though Secret Service agents could not get the device operational due to technical difficulties.

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How Will The Responsible Agents Be Disciplined?

It is unclear what exact punishments will be doled out for agents held responsible for the security shortcomings, though Rowe said the Secret Service members responsible for the failings will be held accountable, noting the agency has among the most robust set of penalties in the entirety of the federal government. Five Secret Service agents were placed on restricted duty following the assassination attempt, while former agency director Kimberly A. Cheatle resigned.

Tangent

Trump was targeted in what officials have said was another assassination attempt last weekend at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida. The suspect was hidden in shrubbery ahead of where Trump was golfing and fled after being fired at by a Secret Service agent. He was later arrested, after authorities said he abandoned an AK-47-style gun with a scope outside the golf course. The would-be shooter has been charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.

Key Background

Crooks was able to fire eight shots at Trump before he was killed by a Secret Service counter-sniper. The assassination attempt left one rally attendee dead and two in critical condition who ultimately survived. Trump’s right ear was nicked by a bullet during the shooting, causing blood to run down the side of his face and Secret Service to rush to his aid before escorting him away. The assassination attempts on Trump provoked the House to push a bipartisan bill for increased Secret Service protection of Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. The bill passed in a 405-0 vote alongside a resolution allowing the second assassination attempt to be added to the House task force already investigating the first attempt, according to NBC News. Reps. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., and Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., have also proposed the Enhanced Presidential Security Act, which would require the Secret Service to apply the same security standards for presidents, vice presidents and “major Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates,” NBC added.