The Senate Homeland Security Committee released a report on Wednesday detailing the preventable security failures by the Secret Service that led to the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump on July 13 during a rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania.
The report highlights a lack of clear command structure and communication failures, which were deemed “foreseeable, preventable, and directly related” to the attempt on Trump’s life by 20-year-old gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks.
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“These failures were shocking, unacceptable, and preventable, and they led to tragic consequences,” said Committee Chairman Gary Peters. “From planning missteps to poor communication and coordination between law enforcement, the breakdowns in technology, and lack of accountability contributed to the attempt on former President Trump’s life.”
The report criticized the Secret Service for its handling of the rally’s security, stating that there was no effective chain of command and that vital information was not communicated properly. It also revealed that Crooks had been spotted by several rally attendees, flagged by Secret Service agents, and even identified by a local counter sniper over an hour before Trump took the stage, yet no action was taken to remove the former president from harm’s way.
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One key failure involved a Secret Service counter-sniper who observed law enforcement drawing their weapons toward the building where Crooks was positioned but did not notify anyone to evacuate Trump. The sniper was assigned to the rally based on credible intelligence of a threat, but no snipers had been previously assigned to work the event.
Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe acknowledged the agency’s failures after the report’s release, stating, “This was a failure on the part of the United States Secret Service. It’s important that we hold ourselves accountable for the failures of July 13th and learn from them to prevent similar incidents in the future.”
The Secret Service had released its own internal report five days earlier, confirming communication deficiencies that hindered coordination between federal and local law enforcement securing the rally.
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The Senate report also criticized Secret Service agents for denying responsibility and failing to identify who made final decisions regarding the rally’s security. Ranking member Senator Rand Paul called it an “inexcusable dereliction of duty,” stating, “Someone needs to be held accountable for these egregious failures.”
Just two months after the Butler rally shooting, another incident occurred when 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh was arrested for attempting to assassinate Trump. He was spotted with an “AK-47 style rifle with a scope” on Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida.
U.S. Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi assured that Trump’s security detail has since been increased to the “highest level of protection the U.S. Secret Service can provide,” and that the agency is working on long-term solutions to enhance communication and coordination with federal, state, and local partners.
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“We are diligently examining long-term solutions to challenges such as enhancing communications and interoperability with our partners to ensure seamless coordination during protective events,” Guglielmi said.
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