The impact of Saturday’s assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, is being felt acutely about 550 miles away in Milwaukee, home to the Republican National Convention this week. President Biden has announced that the investigation into the incident at Trump’s rally, in which a 20-year-old gunman appears to have breached a U.S. Secret Service security perimeter, will be thorough, thorough and “independent.”
But investigations following shootings are complex and time-consuming. Congress and the American people didn’t get answers until the convention began on Monday. Just how much security will be deployed at the Republican National Convention? History suggests a dramatic shift in posture and alertness is likely underway.
I understand this paradigm shift because 20 years ago, just three years after the horrors of 9/11 and massive intelligence failures, the Republican National Committee was planning to hold its convention at Madison Square Garden. And some intercepted terrorist cell conversations mentioned seeking “the next 9/11.” What more tempting target could there be than a venue hosting a sitting U.S. president in America’s most iconic city? In August 2004, the stakes were high and the fear of an imminent attack was palpable.
At the time, I was the senior SWAT team leader for the FBI’s New York field office’s 45-person tactical unit, and my job was to work with the Secret Service and the NYPD to ensure tactical operations were integrated and seamless.
This will be no easy task, even taking into account the slight improvements in interagency communication since 9/11.
“This advance coordination is similar to the coordination the Secret Service ensured with state and local law enforcement prior to Saturday’s rally in Butler. The USSS must leverage its sister law enforcement agencies and assets to enhance its mission and carry out its mission of protecting the President.”
When the Secretary of Homeland Security designates a particular event (such as a major political party convention) as a special national security event, the Secret Service “assumes a mandated role as the lead agency in the design and implementation of the operational security plan.” According to the doctrine, a campaign rally for a typical candidate like Trump is not designated a special national security event. This meant that the equipment and personnel allocated to Butler were much more limited than what was available and on display in Milwaukee.
The FBI’s role at a National Security Council like the 2004 or 2024 Republican National Convention will be decidedly different. Through Presidential Decision Directive 62, a communication on national security and US foreign policy, the Clinton Administration granted the Department of Justice (via the FBI) the status of lead agency to act as the operational response agency for any terrorist attack, i.e., an attack on the President or any representative at the convention.
The application of “lessons learned” is commonplace for law enforcement agencies seeking to minimize “blind spots” during security assessments. After the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas in 1963, the deadly consequences of a skilled sniper in a vantage point overlooking a presidential motorcade were soberingly recognized. This is no longer an abstraction.
A future U.S. president must follow the military adage “hold the high ground” when making a public appearance. It was a clear security lapse that allowed Thomas Matthew Crooks to climb to the top of a building about 130 yards from President Trump on Saturday. In Milwaukee, that concern won’t be an issue because the event will be indoors, in a smaller, more manageable space.
But what are the adjustments that need to be made in coordination and operations for Milwaukee?
First, President Biden has already announced an increase in resources for his predecessor’s USSS forces, but Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) claims his campaign had already requested and been denied. The largest USSS footprint in modern history is expected in Milwaukee. Having a strong, publicly visible presence of security assets could have a deterrent effect.
Next, we can expect the following emerging technologies: Facial Recognition As law enforcement agencies across the country extract data from social media sites and investigate threats posted online, they are being deployed to control access and identify potential threats. Advanced, cutting-edge surveillance technology, including drones, sensors and cameras, has already been provided to local law enforcement agencies ahead of the 2020 Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee.
Interoperability of communication equipment (radio) among multiple law enforcement agencies will also be of paramount importance, as it will be impossible for everyone to use the same radio frequency channels during a crisis.
But in every crisis postmortem I have conducted, the lament has been, “We can’t talk to each other.” This issue will no doubt be a subject of evaluations of assassination attempts. The Secret Service will have a joint or joint operations center focused on communications.
The last: In 1995, shortly after extremists bombed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, FBI Director Louis Freeh assigned additional agents to protect Attorney General Janet Reno.
As one of the young FBI agents assigned to this temporary mission, I remember the briefing I received from my senior agent, who simply warned me that complacency was a sure thing.
Surveillance and protection missions are often so boring and mundane that it’s easy to let your guard down. Sometimes it takes a shocking event, like Saturday’s tragedy or near miss, to heighten our senses and make us stay vigilant.
Make no mistake: Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum will be the safest venue on earth this week, and as the nation seeks answers for what went wrong in Butler, Pennsylvania, raising awareness will be the key to victory over evil.
James A. Gagliano is a retired FBI Senior Special Agent and a doctoral candidate in Homeland Security at St. John’s University. He serves as Mayor of Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York, and serves on the board of directors of the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund.
