September 20, 2024
How could this happen?
“deficiency” “communications breakdown” and “complacency” those are just some of the words the secret service uses to describe the failures that led to the assassination attempt of former President Trump at his July rally in butler Pennsylvania.
The Secret Service released this five-page document today summarizing some key results in advance of a full more comprehensive report that will be finalized in the coming weeks.
The summary talks about the absence of clear guidance from the secret service to local law enforcement ahead of the rally, the failure to address line-of-sight vulnerabilities at the rally grounds that left trump open to sniper fire and “complacency” among some agents. The report also talks about the overreliance on mobile devices between agents and local law enforcement which allowed critical information to be siloed and not widely communicated to everyone on the scene just moments before shots were fired.
The report also includes a second by second timeline.
So now what? Well the secret service says they are moving into what they call the “accountability phase.”
Since this disaster in July – the secret service has elevated its protective model and say that’s because of what they call an “elevated threat level.” But today – the acting director of the secret service says the new paradigm shift means secret service will increase the number of personnel, technical assets and equipment.
Read the report here.
Watch the Director’s statement here.
