A new Secret Service report on the July assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump said several staffers were aware of obvious visibility hazards but found them “tolerable” and that farm equipment was intended to obstruct the view from the nearby building where the shooter opened. fire was never used.
>> Here is the investigation into the Trump assassination attempt in Butler
The internal investigation released Friday is the latest in a list of reports and investigations into the July 13 shooting at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, that left one protester dead and two others injured. Trump was shot in the ear before being pushed off the stage.
A Secret Service counter-sniper shot and killed the gunman, Thomas Crooks.
>> ‘Preventable and should not have happened’: House releases report on Trump assassination attempt
A classified version of the report, prepared by the agency’s Office of Professional Responsibility, was shared with members of Congress, while an unclassified seven-page synopsis was publicly released Friday. An early version of the agency’s investigation into his own conduct was released in September.
The report largely reflected the findings of other investigations that helped explain the lack of communication between the Secret Service and local law enforcement agencies that day, and the agency’s inability to prevent nearby vantage points — including a building just 500 feet from the stage where Trump would speak. – not used by the shooter.
But it provides more details about the failures of an agency that is intensively monitoring its performance in what has been described as a “no-fail” mission to protect top US leaders.
Line of sight problems
The report faulted Secret Service staff for failing to find a way to reduce the risk posed by a cluster of nearby buildings that provide an unobstructed view of the stage.
Thugs climbed onto one of the buildings and fired eight shots before being killed.
“Multiple Secret Service employees incorrectly assessed these facial risks to the former President as acceptable, leading to inadequate elimination,” the report said.
According to the report, supervisors expected large farm equipment to be placed to obstruct the view between the buildings and the stage, but ultimately they were not used.
The report did not explain why they were not used, but said staffers who visited the site before the meeting to plan for security did not tell their supervisors that the line of sight issues had not been addressed.
Communication problems
The report detailed how the Secret Service created a security room for the event, where staffers from all law enforcement agencies assisting that day would be stationed. But ultimately, only the Pennsylvania State Police had someone in the security room, while local emergency services had a separate room, the report said.
“The progressive team failed to follow up and ensure the Security Room was staffed according to Secret Service methodology,” the report said.
The internal investigation also found that a Secret Service counter-sniper team failed to pick up a radio presented to them by the local law enforcement team, affecting their ability to communicate.
“These communications breakdowns significantly contributed to the failure of the mission, leaving many law enforcement personnel conducting protective operations, including former President Trump’s protective detail, unaware of key information leading to the attempt to murder,” the report said.
The weather
The report suggested that the high temperatures that day and the need to care for rally-goers feeling the effects of the heat played a role in diverting the attention of security staff.
One of the local emergency management teams on site reported handling 251 requests for medical assistance that day, the internal review said.
A “lack of coordination with campaign staff on these issues resulted in a larger-than-expected portion of security personnel being deployed to assist with medical responses,” the report said.
Responsibility
The Friday report did not detail whether anyone in the Secret Service had been fired or otherwise reprimanded. It did suggest that the performance of some staffers would warrant “corrective counseling” or “disciplinary action” and promised accountability for anyone who violated agency policies.
The agency’s Office of Integrity will now review the findings.
The Associated Press has previously reported that at least five Secret Service agents have been placed on modified duty. The director at the time, Kimberly Cheatle, resigned more than a week after the shooting, saying she took full responsibility for the crimes.
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