The U.S. Secret Service had a mission on Saturday afternoon (13) in the city of Butler, Pennsylvania: to ensure that Donald Trump held his rally safely. The failure of the agents tasked with protecting the former president has not yet been fully explained, but part of the problem may be linked to an increasing emphasis on “inclusion” rather than excellence.
The attack on Trump — who was shot in the ear in an attack that left two dead — was the most serious Secret Service failure since at least 1981, when then-President Ronald Reagan was shot by a sniper as he left a Washington hotel.
It is not possible to say that the security agency’s “diversity and inclusion” policy was directly responsible for the failure during Trump’s rally. But the head of the agency that is responsible for protecting presidents and former presidents is under scrutiny and should be questioned by Congress.
Agency chief was appointed by Biden in 2022
Secret Service Chief Kimberly Cheatle has been in the role since May 2022 and is the second woman to lead the agency in history. Kimberly was appointed by Joe Biden, whose security team she had been part of when he was vice president.
During her tenure, Kimberly prioritized actions aimed at making the Secret Service more “diverse” and “inclusive.”
In interview with USA Today In April last year, she said diversity should become “part of the agency.” “I look forward to the day when we can talk about this agency and whoever is in charge of this agency and not have to distinguish ‘she’s the second woman, or the fifth, or the sixth.’ And that diversity is simply part of the agency,” she said.
The following month, Kimberly Cheatle also spoke to CBS for a special report on the Secret Service. In it, the head of the agency reaffirmed her intention to prioritize minority recruits (i.e., non-white or male).
“We need to attract ‘diverse’ candidates [de minorias] and make sure that we develop and provide opportunities for everyone in our workforce, and particularly women,” she said.
The goal is to have 30% women by 2030
The Secret Service is part of an initiative which aims to have 30% of police force personnel be women by 2030. Today, the rate at the agency is 24%. The agency openly states on its official website that prioritizes female candidates.
The agency maintains specific programs to favor blacks, Asians, Hispanics, Native Americans, women, gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people. Two weeks ago, the agency held a “Roundtable with the LGBTQ Community”.
To make it easier for women to join, the Secret Service has two standards of physical fitness requirements. One for men, one for women.
For example: to receive an “excellent” rating, a 29-year-old man need to do 55 push-ups. For a woman of the same age, 40 are required. In terms of speed, a 29-year-old man has to run 1.5 miles (about 2.4 kilometers) in 10 minutes and 16 seconds. A 29-year-old woman needs to cover the same distance in 12 minutes and 50 seconds.
Commentator Meghan McCain, daughter of 2008 Republican presidential candidate John McCain, criticized the idea that the Secret Service should have more women.
“The notion that men and women are equal is simply absurd. You have to be taller than the candidate to protect him with your body. Why do they have these short women (and one who apparently can’t holster a gun) protecting Trump? This is embarrassing and dangerous,” she wrote on social media.
The Secret Service’s failures
The gunman, Matthew Crooks, was approximately 400 feet away, on the roof of one of the few buildings in the vicinity of the event. In other words, the location from which he fired his gun was an obvious point of interest.
The area from which Crooks fired was not included in the rally’s security perimeter. “My information is that it was outside the perimeter,” Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said in a statement. Collective interview hours after the attack.
This means that the building, which belongs to a private company but is not protected by fences or bars, was accessible to anyone.
The Secret Service does its job of mapping out potential threats in advance. It is still unclear why the building — which belongs to a local business and is located directly behind the site where Trump’s podium was set up — was not cordoned off by the agency.
Army sniper comments on failures
Retired Sergeant Marco Antonio de Souza, who was a Special Operations “hunter” (sniper) in the Brazilian Army, says the Secret Service made a series of mistakes.
The first was the failure to adequately isolate the concentric circles around Trump. “The Secret Service did not establish these circles. He did not even occupy the area of dominance, which is the area where the shooter can have a direct view of where the dignitary will be,” he explains.
One possible explanation, he says, citing information he has received from American colleagues, is the reduced number of Secret Service personnel. “The number of agents they had there was only enough to fill the approximate circle,” he says.
Furthermore, he says that the Secret Service snipers did not anticipate the attacker’s actions, who was at a relatively short distance. “The counter-sniper cells did not act preemptively. What the video shows is the counter-sniper apparently responding to an attack. He is not there to respond, he is there to prevent,” he says.
Souza adds that once the shooter was spotted, Secret Service agents were supposed to order Trump to be removed from the podium. According to him, the security team around the former president was slow to react. “The one who took the first evasive action was Trump,” he says. The Republican threw himself to the ground before the Secret Service could reach him.
Finally, the sergeant claims that the Secret Service should have used drones to search the area surrounding the rally.
Trump campaign complains about security
Before the attack, Donald Trump’s campaign had already had sent a letter to the head of the Secret Service asking that the security perimeter of the Republican National Convention be expanded.
The campaign has pointed to a “serious flaw” in the preparations for the event, which begins Monday in Milwaukee and is expected to draw thousands of people. The convention will confirm Donald Trump as the party’s presidential candidate.
Earlier in April, a Democratic congressman tried to remove Trump’s protection. Bennie G. Thompson of Missouri, presented a bill that would prevent convicted criminals (such as Trump) from receiving Secret Service protection. The proposal did not advance.
Criticism of the Secret Service
The Secret Service’s failure provoked immediate reactions in Washington.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said a “thorough investigation” into the attack would be conducted and that Kimberly Cheatle would be called to testify before lawmakers. “The American people deserve to know the truth,” he said. announced.
Tycoon Elon Musk, owner of Tesla and the social network X, asked Kimberly step down. “Extreme incompetence, or it was on purpose. Either way, the leadership of the Secret Service needs to resign,” he demanded.
Former Secret Service officer and podcast host Dan Bongino also criticized the agency. “Obviously, this is a catastrophic failure and there is no excuse to make, or attempt to make, any excuse,” he said. Bongino said questions remain about the surveillance on the ground and in the air. “We have a mission, and we were inches away from a fatal failure,” he said.
What does the Secret Service do?
The Secret Service was called upon in 1865 to combat counterfeiting shortly after the end of the Civil War.
After President William McKinley was assassinated in 1901, Congress mandated that the Secret Service protect the chief executive. Over time, the agency’s authority was expanded to include the president’s family, the vice president, presidential candidates, and former presidents. Since 1965, former presidents and first ladies have been given lifetime protection by the agency.
In 2000, the Secret Service also established itself as an agency responsible for investigating threats against the president and former presidents, as well as planning and coordinating security measures during events such as presidential candidate rallies.
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