(AFP) – The US Secret Service on Friday detailed a litany of failures uncovered by its review of the attempted assassination of former president Donald Trump at a rally in July. Shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks was able to open fire from a nearby rooftop at the outdoor event held by Republican election candidate Trump, who narrowly escaped death and suffered a wound to his right ear. The review “identified deficiencies in the advanced planning and its implementation,” Acting Director Ronald Rowe Jr. said at a press briefing.
“While some members of the advance team were very diligent, there was complacency on the part of others that led to a breach of security protocols.”
– Alerts ‘not relayed’ – Among the failures identified by Rowe were poor communication with local law enforcement, an “over-reliance” on mobile devices “resulting in information being siloed,” and line of sight issues, which “were acknowledged but not properly mitigated.”
“At approximately 18:10 local time, by a phone call, the Secret Service security room calls the countersniper response agent reporting an individual on the roof of the AGR building,” Rowe recounted. “That vital piece of information was not relayed over the Secret Service radio network.”
Two attendees of the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania were injured from gunfire and a third, 50-year-old firefighter Corey Comperatore, died as a result. Crooks was shot dead on the roof by Secret Service personnel.
Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle resigned in the aftermath of the dramatic incident, and several Secret Service agents have been put on leave. Rowe said the Secret Service needed additional funding, personnel, and equipment to complete a “paradigm shift…from a state of reaction to a state of readiness.”
The Congressional task force investigating the attempted assassination of Trump issued a statement Friday encouraging Rowe to “follow through” on holding employees accountable and to cooperate with its independent investigation. “Complacency has no place in the Secret Service,” the task force said.
The US House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill Friday to boost Secret Service protection for presidential candidates to the same level as sitting presidents and vice presidents. The bill now awaits a vote in the Senate and a signature by President Joe Biden before it becomes law.
Rowe said that Trump is now being given the same levels of protection as the president. The increased demand for security came into sharp focus again after a second apparent assassination attempt on Trump’s life at his golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida last weekend.
“What occurred on Sunday demonstrates that the threat environment in which the Secret Service operates is tremendous,” Rowe said. The gunman in Florida did not have a line of sight on the former president and failed to fire a shot before he was discovered and arrested, officials say.
Trump has sought political advantage by blaming — without evidence — Biden and Democratic election rival Kamala Harris for fueling motivation behind the plots, citing their “rhetoric” about him endangering democracy. Both Biden and Harris have repeatedly denounced the assassination bids and any political violence, with Biden calling for Congress to provide more resources for the Secret Service.
© 2024 AFP
