On the evening of Saturday, July 13, 2024, Republican candidate and former President Donald Trump was shot during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, with a bullet piercing his ear.
Secret Service agents surrounded Trump after the assassination attempt and rushed him off the stage at the Butler Farm Show, where he huddled and covered his ears after being shot in the side of his head.
Just minutes after he began speaking, a gunman, identified by the FBI as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, opened fire on him.
Democratic leader requests Secret Service protection for RFK and JR following alleged Trump assassination attempt
Donald Trump, bleeding from the face, is surrounded by Secret Service agents as he is escorted off stage during a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show Co. on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images)
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement: “The incident occurred on the evening of July 13 at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania. The Secret Service has taken protective measures and the former president is safe. The Secret Service is currently investigating and more information will be released as it becomes available.”
The shooter was on the roof of a building near the rally and the stage where Trump was standing. Rally attendees told reporters they had alerted local police and tried to create enough disturbance to call in the Secret Service. Many Americans have wondered what the Secret Service’s protocol is in the event of an assassination attempt.
The law enforcement agency’s website states, “Our security mission dates back to 1901 after the assassination of President William McKinley. Following this tragedy, the Secret Service was authorized to protect the President of the United States. In 1906, Congress passed legislation and funding to provide the Secret Service with presidential protection. Over the years, the number of individuals we protect and the scope of our security mission have expanded in response to the evolving threat environment.”
Former President Trump is escorted off stage during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Live updates: Shooting at Trump rally
After the assassination President John F. Kennedy On November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, President Lyndon B. Johnson issued an executive order calling for the creation of the President’s Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, commonly known as the Warren Commission, effective November 29, 1963. According to the National Archives, the order’s executive summary concluded that people all over the world should have “full and true knowledge” of assassinations and assassination attempts.
The order provided for changes to Secret Service procedures, giving future presidents the ability to have as close contact with voters as JFK had, while also providing protection for the president and first family and the ability to anticipate possible threats.
In addition, new inspection techniques were implemented for buildings along the motorcade route, and inspectors were deployed to other government agencies during the president’s visit.
The investigation into the Kennedy assassination found no errors by the Secret Service, but concluded the agency was understaffed and underfunded, according to the National Archives. More money was subsequently added to the budget and heavy armored vehicles and motorcades were deployed.
Additionally, the Secret Service has the authority to provide security for the First Family, which includes the President, all immediate family members, the Vice President, any other person in the line of succession to the Oval Office, former presidents serving for life unless declined, their spouses, and children of former presidents up to age 16.
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This makes Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump the only members of the former president’s family who are required to be entertained by Secret Service agents.
The agency’s official website states that the major presidential and vice presidential candidates and their spouses must receive protection within 120 days of the election. But Colorado Governor Jared Polis called on President Biden to provide Secret Service protection for independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in the wake of the assassination attempt on President Trump.
Police told X, “I [Biden] Immediately provide Secret Service protection [Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.]”
Former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley also requested the Secret Service be deployed in February following a “swatting” incident at a rally.
According to the Secret Service’s official website, the service currently employs 3,200 special agents, 1,300 uniformed officers, and more than 2,000 other professionals.
