Several US Secret Service agents have been discharged following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump last month, media outlets reported Friday.
Fox and CBS reported that at least five Secret Service members involved in the incident, including the head of the Secret Service office in Pittsburgh, had been discharged.
Security at the July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, has come under scrutiny, with serious concerns about how the suspect was able to access a nearby rooftop with a direct line of sight to where Trump was speaking.
The Secret Service has declared itself “embarrassed” by the security breach and its chief resigned following the assassination attempt.
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi would not confirm the reports but said “we are examining the processes, procedures and factors that led to this operational failure” and “any identified and substantiated violations of policy will be investigated … for potential disciplinary action.”
Trump was shot in the ear, one rally-goer was killed and two other people were injured in the shooting. FBI authorities have yet to identify the motive of the alleged shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Crooks, who was shot dead by a Secret Service agent who opened fire.
Following the attack, the Secret Service advised Trump to avoid large outdoor events. Trump later said he would continue holding outdoor rallies and that the Secret Service had “agreed to substantially step up its operation” to protect him.
Trump spoke from behind a bulletproof glass shield in North Carolina on Wednesday, his first outdoor rally since the attack.
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