The Senate released a bipartisan report Wednesday criticizing the United States Secret Service for significant failures that led to the near-fatal assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump in Butler County, Pennsylvania.
Among claims in the report is that security was aware of the shooter on the roof minutes before Trump was shot. Additionally, the report includes a list of failures, such as that the Secret Service did not properly respond after the would-be assassin was identified as a suspicious person over an hour before Trump took the stage.
“Approximately two minutes before shots were fired, the USSS Security Room, located on the rally grounds, was told that there was an individual on the roof of the AGR building,” the report said. “Shortly before shots were fired, a USSS counter sniper observed local officers running towards the AGR building with guns drawn.”
Other details include failure to delegate responsibilities to agents and officers, failure to keep the key buildings cleared, failure to work will with local law enforcement, who were helping with security, and more.
The report also referenced an inexperienced agent who had trouble getting the drone working and spent hours calling a tech support hotline for help. The agents apparently also had problems with their radios, something that is common.
“From planning missteps, to the siloed and flawed communication to the lack of effective coordination between law enforcement, to the breakdowns in technology, the Secret Service’s failures that allowed an assassination attempt on former President Trump at his July 13 rally were shocking, unacceptable, and preventable – and they led to tragic consequences,” said Chairman Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich.
Lawmakers called for accountability and ongoing oversight. The Center Square reports:
“Our initial findings clearly show a series of multiple failures of the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) and an inexcusable dereliction of duty,” Ranking Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said in a statement. “Not only did USSS fail to ensure the AGR roof was adequately covered, they were also aware of a suspicious individual with a rangefinder for at least 27 minutes and did not delay proceedings or remove former President Trump from the stage, even after being informed that the suspicious individual was on the roof of the AGR building.”
