An independent panel investigating the attempted assassination of Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania has criticized the Secret Service, describing the agency as “bureaucratic, complacent, and static.”
The panel’s 52-page report, released on Thursday, identified specific shortcomings at the July 13 rally in Butler and deeper issues within the Secret Service’s culture.According to the report, at least two Secret Service agents were aware of gunman Thomas Crooks‘ suspicious behaviour but did not communicate it effectively.
“The Secret Service must be the world’s leading governmental protective organization,” the report said. “The events at Butler on July 13 demonstrate that, currently, it is not.”
The 4-member panel of former Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, former acting Attorney General Mark Filip, former Homeland Security Adviser Frances Townsend, and former Maryland State Police Superintendent David Mitchell accused the agency personnel of having a “troubling lack of critical thinking” before and after the attack.
They identified several key failures, including the absence of a single Secret Service agent in charge of security for the rally, the complacency of some agents involved in securing the event, and the lack of clear instructions from the Secret Service to local officials assisting them. The panel also noted the inexperience of certain agents assigned to critical tasks.
The timeline of the event provided in the report revealed a series of missteps. Local law enforcement first spotted Crooks at 4:26 p.m. when he entered a restricted area near a building called the AGR building, which had a direct line of sight to the rally stage. However, the Secret Service did not become aware of Crooks’ presence until 5:44 pm, and he was not apprehended until 6:10 p.m., by which time he had already fired eight shots at Trump before being killed by a Secret Service agent.
The panel’s recommendations range from specific changes, such as having aerial surveillance at every outdoor event, to institutional shifts, like prioritizing continual training and establishing a leadership training program. The panel also highlighted the troubling way agents allowed the upper half of Trump’s body to be exposed during the incident, recommending further training on properly removing someone they are protecting from danger.
The gunman, Thomas Crooks, fired at Trump, grazing the former president’s ear and killing a man in the crowd, Corey Comperatore.