Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe testified to the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday that the Secret Service had no knowledge that a man with a gun was on the roof of the building until shots were fired.
“Based on what I know now, neither the Secret Service counter sniper team nor the former presidential guards knew there was a man with a gun on the roof of the AGR building. My understanding is that they were not aware that the gunman had a gun until they heard gunshots,” he said.
He said that before Thomas Matthew Crooks was fired, the Secret Service operated with the understanding that “local law enforcement was addressing the problem of suspicious persons.”
Acting Director of the US Secret Service Ronald Rowe Jr. prepares to testify at a joint hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and Senate Judiciary Committees on the security failures that led to the assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump, in Washington, DC, on July 30, 2024. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)
Rowe’s claim comes after speculation that a Secret Service sniper saw Crooks with a rifle on the roof but did not fire due to rules of engagement.
“I regret that Congress and the public were not informed sooner,” Rowe said. [and] I fear that this lack of information has given rise to a number of false and dangerous conspiracy theories about what happened that day, and I want to reject these theories.”
Regarding speculation about why the Secret Service sniper did not fire sooner, Rowe said, “Secret Service counter-snipers neutralized the assailant within seconds of the assailant firing his weapon. The counter-snipers had complete discretion to use lethal force to stop the assailant and were not required to seek permission to fire.”
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He added, “I am incredibly proud of the dedicated employees who serve every day around the world. They answer the call to protect our nation’s leaders, and there’s a reason standards don’t fail during the current high operational tempo. I want and need to keep Secret Service employees motivated and focused on the mission.”
“I have their full support and am confident in their capabilities to ensure the safety and security of the people we protect. They are worthy of trust and confidence and they deserve your support and the support of the American people.”
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