A new report has shown that the US Secret Service is responsible for security failures in the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania on July 13, which led to one death and multiple injuries.
An internal review by the agency revealed on Friday that agents neglected to use technology that could have identified the attacker when he flew a drone over the rally site hours before the incident, Xinhua news agency reported.
The report highlighted failures by the Secret Service’s advance team and its coordination with state and local law enforcement prior to the attack. The Secret Service, responsible for overseeing Trump’s security, failed to instruct local police snipers to secure a nearby rooftop.
Former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, who resigned amid widespread outrage over the agency’s failure to prevent the incident, was previously grilled by multiple lawmakers at a Congressional hearing on why the agency failed to secure the rooftop.
At a news briefing on Friday, Acting Director Ronald Rowe highlighted a “lack of clarity” from the Secret Service in their security planning for Trump’s rally.
At the rally, just shortly before shots were fired into the crowd, some people saw the suspect climbing on top of the roof and alerted local police, but Trump’s protective detail had no idea police were searching for the suspicious person.
Secret Service agents and local law enforcement operated on different radio frequencies and were stationed in separate locations, which hindered their ability to quickly share information.
“It’s important that we hold ourselves accountable for the failures of July 13th, and that we use the lessons learned to make sure that we do not have another failure like this again,” Rowe said.
After the assassination attempt of Trump in Pennsylvania, the Secret Service allocated additional resources not typically provided to someone in Trump’s position.
On Sunday, a man was arrested after a Secret Service agent spotted a rifle barrel sticking out of a fence at the Trump International Golf Club in South Florida and “engaged” with him. Trump was unharmed in what appears to be the second assassination attempt in about two months.
Just days after the second assassination attempt, the US House of Representatives on Friday unanimously approved a bill that aims to enhance Secret Service protection for the presidential nominees and their respective vice presidential candidates.
The bill would require the Secret Service to “apply the same standards for determining the number of agents required to protect presidents, vice presidents, and major presidential and vice presidential candidates”.
