PoliticsDonald Trump Assassination Attempt: Multiple U.S. Secret Service Agents Put on Leave Amid Investigation
The Secret Service are under investigation for the security lapse during Trump's attempted assassination.
In the aftermath of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania, several U.S. Secret Service agents have been placed on leave as part of the agency's ongoing investigation.
One member of Trump’s personal protective team and four members of the Secret Service’s Pittsburgh Field Office, including the special agent in charge, have been sidelined nearly six weeks after the incident.
Several Secret Service members have been put on leave amid an internal investigation.
The news comes as the elite agency investigates the colossal security failure that led to Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, firing off several shots from the nearby AGR building on July 13.
On Friday, August 23, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., revealed that a Secret Service whistleblower has come forward to claim that officials at Secret Service headquarters encouraged agents in charge of the rally to not request any extra security assets in their formal planning request.
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigning amidst growing pressure.
As OK! previously reported, the repercussions of the incident have been swift, with Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigning amidst growing pressure for accountability. A Congressional investigation into the events in Butler is also underway, seeking to uncover the lapses that allowed the assassination attempt to occur.
Furthermore, the Secret Service's internal affairs department is conducting its own inquiry into the attempted assassination, running parallel to the Congressional efforts.
Donald Trump survived his attempted assassination with only his ear being grazed.
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Trump was only grazed on the ear, but tragically, one person in the crowd lost their life, and two others were injured.
Videos from the event captured Crooks' movements as he scoped out the area, walked around the fairgrounds, and positioned himself on the roof, just a few hundred yards from Trump.
Additionally, Crooks flew a drone over the rally and had been flagged by law enforcement. Despite this, he managed to evade both the police and the Secret Service, highlighting the significant security failure of the event.
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Thomas Matthew Crooks attempted to assassinate Donald Trump in Pennsylvania.
The Secret Service released a statement claiming the agency is committed to investigating the decisions and actions of personnel in relation to the July 13 shooting.
"The U.S. Secret Service's mission assurance review is progressing, and we are examining the processes, procedures and factors that led to this operational failure," Anthony Guglielmi, the Secret Service chief of communications, said in a statement.
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"The U.S. Secret Service holds our personnel to the highest professional standards, and any identified and substantiated violations of policy will be investigated by the Office of Professional Responsibility for potential disciplinary action," he continued. "Given this is a personnel matter, we are not in a position to comment further."
