A report released Friday by the U.S. Secret Service uncovered several “communications glitches” that occurred in the lead-up to the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania.
The five-page report found that communications glitches “impaired collective awareness” of local and federal law enforcement agencies responsible for security at the Butler rally. According to To the report summary: These security lapses allowed 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks to target and fire at the former president from a rooftop just 130 yards from the rally stage. (Related: House unanimously passes bill to strengthen Secret Service protection for presidential candidates)
“Employees failed to broadcast via radio to all federal employees at the Butler facility the suspect's description and key information received from local law enforcement regarding the suspicious individual on the roof of the AGR complex, thereby preventing collective awareness among all Secret Service employees,” the report summary reads.
BUTLER, PA – JULY 13: Republican presidential candidate and former president Donald Trump holds up his arms, blood streaming from his face, as he is escorted off stage by U.S. Secret Service agents during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Javin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Crooks Discovered It was spotted by multiple witnesses and attendees prior to the rally, flagged down by the Secret Service, and identified by a local counter sniper more than an hour before Trump took the stage, resulting in the death of attendee Corey Comperatore and the injury of two bystanders.
The report's summary said the Secret Service understood that the rally would be highly visible and that Trump would be at risk of being targeted by assassins, but no security measures were put in place to address those safety concerns. (RELATED: 'Nearly irresponsible': Democratic lawmakers slam DHS for inaction in assassination attempt investigation, threaten subpoenas)
According to a summary of the report, the security team operating on the second floor of the building where Crooks was stationed had not been in contact with the Secret Service prior to the rally. The tactical team was deployed by local law enforcement without coordination with the Secret Service.
Despite these deficiencies, the report does not identify anyone responsible for the security failures or say whether disciplinary action was taken, according to a summary of the report. (Related: 'They lied to us': Mike Lee questions why Secret Service allowed Trump to take the stage after shooter was identified)
However, more than a month after the Butler assassination attempt, reports confirmed that several agents had been placed on administrative leave, and then-Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned 10 days after the shooting and was evasive during congressional testimony about security failures on July 13.
Less than two months after the attempted assassination of Butler, suspect Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, plotted to assassinate the former president Sunday while he was playing golf at the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Fla. A Secret Service agent found Routh's “scoped AK-47-type rifle” in some bushes on the course, and he was quickly arrested by law enforcement.
Following the second assassination attempt, Acting Director Ronald Lowe acknowledged that the Secret Service needed to undergo a “paradigm shift.”
“When I left Butler, I ordered a paradigm shift,” Rowe says. said During a press conference on Monday, he said: “The Secret Service's defensive methods are working and they're sound. I reviewed that yesterday. But given where we are right now in this dynamic threat environment, guidance has been given to me that we need to re-evaluate how we defend ourselves. We need to move away from a reactive model and move to a responsive model.”
As an independent, nonpartisan news service, all content produced by the Daily Caller News Foundation is available free of charge to any legitimate news publisher with a large readership. All republished articles must include our logo, reporter byline, and affiliation with the DCNF. If you have any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact us at licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
