Communication problems, technical glitches and “complacency” among Secret Service team members prevented agents from stopping a gunman from opening fire on Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally in July, a report the agency released Friday said.
Ronald Rowe, acting director of the Secret Service, said at a news conference that an unspecified number of agency personnel will face consequences for the mistakes that killed one person and injured the former president and two others. He declined to provide details about possible punishments.
Rowe also repeatedly promised a “paradigm shift” that would make the agency “more agile” in protecting the nation’s top politicians. But he warned that the agency is “burning a lot of resources and assets” by giving Trump the same level of protection as the sitting president and vice president and called for more.
“We’re not capitalizing on a crisis,” Rowe said. “We have finite resources and we’re stretching those resources to the max.”
The shooting in Butler roiled Trump’s campaign and led to weeks of criticism of the agency for failing to protect the president. Former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned following the security breach in Butler and a heated hearing in July before the House Oversight Committee, where Republican and Democratic lawmakers criticized the agency’s handling of the incident.
The five-page summary the Secret Service released Friday — the full report is expected to be completed in the coming weeks — is one of several investigations into the Pennsylvania shooting. The Department of Homeland Security has ordered an outside review of the incident, and a congressional inquiry is underway.
It comes as the elite protection force is under renewed scrutiny following a possible second assassination attempt on the former president at his Florida golf club earlier this month. Trump has praised the Secret Service for its handling of that incident. But his initial gratitude after Butler has given way to criticism of the agency’s blunders.
The findings of the Secret Service investigation into the Pennsylvania shooting make it clear that the agency knew the location of the rally — the grounds of the Butler Farm Show, selected by Trump’s staff to better accommodate “the large number of desired attendees” — posed a security “challenge.”
“Deficiencies” in communications between law enforcement agencies are cited, including that some local police officers were unaware that there were two communications centers on the premises and that the Secret Service was not receiving their radio transmissions, with details being passed outside the agency’s network.
“The failure of personnel to radio the description of the attacker, or critical information received from local law enforcement regarding a suspicious person on the roof of the AGR complex, to all federal personnel at the Butler site hampered the collective awareness of all Secret Service personnel,” the report said.
And it explains how multiple law enforcement agencies questioned the effectiveness of having a local tactical team stationed on the second floor of the building from which the 20-year-old shooter, Thomas Crooks, took aim at Trump — a team that had no contact with the Secret Service before the meeting — “but there was no follow-up conversation about changing their position.” There was also no conversation with the Secret Service about positioning the team on the roof, even though local snipers “apparently were not opposed to that location.”
Authorities shot Crooks dead shortly after he opened fire. The motive behind the shooting remains a mystery.
The agency also cited “technical issues” with the drone system that, had it been functioning properly, could have detected Crooks when he flew his drone near the rally site earlier in the day.
Rowe, who took over the agency after Cheatle stepped down, said in a press conference Friday that Trump will now have the same level of protection as President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Security has also been increased to “high levels” for Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, who is Trump’s running mate, and Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, who is Harris’ running mate, Rowe said.
But he said the agency needs more staff, technical resources and equipment to keep it going — though he declined Friday to publicly name a figure as Congress debates additional funding.
Rowe also said the agency is on track to hire more than 400 special agents by the end of the fiscal year — a hiring spree he called critical ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, which the Secret Service will oversee.
“I believe we are meeting this manpower challenge,” Rowe said. “We have no choice.”
Josh Gerstein contributed to this report. Material from The Associated Press also was used.
