An internal U.S. Secret Service report released Friday concluded that the security failures committed by the elite body, in charge of monitoring presidents and top-level political figures, They are responsible for the attack on former President Donald Trump last July, in which he was injured in the ear.
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The review “identified deficiencies in advance planning and implementation by Secret Service personnel,” Ronald Rowe, acting director of the agency, said at a news conference on Friday.
The internal review conducted following the incident – one of the multiple investigations being carried out into the incident – concluded, among other things, that The agents who were monitoring the former president (2017-2021) while he was holding a rally in Butler (Pennsylvania) did not have the technical capacity to communicate with the local police.
Nor to detect drones on the day of the rally, the report states, which also clarifies that Officers did not previously discuss how a warehouse complex surrounding the site should be secured.
Among the failings identified by Rowe were poor communication with local authorities, an “over-reliance” on mobile devices “resulting in information storage” and line-of-sight issues, which “were acknowledged but not adequately mitigated.”
“At approximately 18:10 local time, via a telephone call, the Secret Service security room called the counter-sniper response agent who reported an individual on the roof of the AGR building,” Rowe said. “That vital information was not transmitted over the Secret Service radio network.”
“While some members of the advance team were very diligent, there was negligence on the part of others, leading to a violation of safety protocols,” he added.
On July 13th, Trump was shot in the ear while participating in a rally. The shooter, a 20-year-old who was later shot dead by Secret Service agents, managed to fire from a rooftop about 140 metres from the former president, although outside the security perimeter.
The harsh criticism that followed prompted the resignation of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, who described the attack as “the most significant operational failure of the Secret Service in decades.”
Scrutiny of the agency has increased in recent days after last Sunday’s Trump was also at risk of a second assassination attempt while golfing in Florida, at the hands of a man who prowled the area for hours armed with an AK-47 rifle and equipped with a telescopic sight, without ever firing any shots.
At a press conference on Friday, current acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe said that Trump is currently receiving “the highest level of protection possible,” security equal to that of President Joe Biden and candidate Kamala Harris.
On Sunday, Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, had “counter-sniper elements present” and “a full counter-attack team in the vicinity.”
The officer who spotted the attacker “identified a threat, an individual with a long weapon, and made quick decisions and acted quickly to mitigate it.”
“The former president was not shot, he was not exposed,” he said, and the arrest was proof that “the procedures are working” and “that high level of protection is working.”
Sunday’s incident prompted several public figures, including President Joe Biden, to call for increased funding for the Secret Service.
Just this Friday, the House of Representatives unanimously approved urgent bipartisan legislation that would increase Secret Service protection. for presidential candidates from both parties, Trump and Kamala Harris, as well as their vice-presidential running mates.
It’s unclear whether the bill will pass because it must go to the Senate, which is seeking to include additional funding for the Secret Service in the stopgap funding bill Congress must pass by Sept. 30 to avoid a government shutdown.
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