The US Secret Service on Friday admitted to a series of security lapses as it reviewed its handling of the foiled assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at a rally in July.
The attacker, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was able to open fire from a rooftop near the stage at the open-air event held by the Republican candidate, but narrowly escaped death. Trump, 78, was wounded in the right ear.
The review “identified deficiencies in advance planning and implementation by Secret Service personnel,” Ronald Rowe, acting director of the agency responsible for the security of senior U.S. dignitaries, told a news conference.
“While some members of the advance team were very diligent, there was negligence on the part of others, leading to a violation of safety protocols,” he said.
Among the failings identified by Rowe were poor communication with local authorities, an “over-reliance” on mobile devices “resulting in information storage” and line-of-sight issues, which “were acknowledged but not adequately mitigated.”
“At approximately 1810 local time, via a telephone call, the Secret Service security room called the counter-sniper response agent who reported an individual on the roof of the AGR building,” Rowe said. “That vital information was not transmitted over the Secret Service radio network.”
Additional funds
Two attendees at Trump’s campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, were wounded by gunfire and a third, firefighter Corey Comperatore, 50, later died. Crooks was shot dead by Secret Service personnel.
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned following the incident, calling it the “biggest operational failure of the Secret Service in decades.”
Rowe added that the service needed additional funding, personnel and equipment to complete a “paradigm shift … from a state of reactivity to one of readiness.”
The House committee investigating the attempted assassination of Trump issued a statement on Friday urging Rowe to “move forward” in holding officials accountable and to cooperate with its investigation.
“Complacency has no place in the Secret Service,” the panel stressed.
The House of Representatives on Friday unanimously approved a bill to raise protections for presidential candidates to the same level as the sitting president and vice president.
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