6 Secret Service Agents Suspended After Trump Assassination Attempt
On July 13, 2024, during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, an assassination attempt was made on former President Donald Trump, who was shot in the ear. The assailant, thomas Matthew Crooks, was killed by a Secret Service counter-sniper after killing firefighter Corey Comperatore and injuring two others at the event. Following the incident, six Secret Service agents were suspended without pay for their roles in the operational failures surrounding the event. The suspensions ranged from 10 to 42 days, with at least two agents appealing their penalties.
Secret Service Deputy Director Matt Quinn acknowledged the agency’s shortcomings, emphasizing a focus on addressing root causes rather than firing agents. He stated that suspended personnel were reassigned to limited duties upon return. A bipartisan congressional task force and a Department of Homeland Security review highlighted critically important failures in planning, leadership, and communication, which exposed the former president and attendees to serious danger. These reviews criticized the Secret Service for bureaucratic complacency and inefficiency despite evolving risks and technology.
In response to the assassination attempt, the Secret Service has enhanced its security measures, including adding military-grade drones and mobile command posts to improve coordination with local law enforcement. The incident also led to the resignation of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle ten days after the attack. The agency has pledged accountability and reforms to prevent similar failures in the future.
Six Secret Service agents were slapped with suspensions related to the July 13, 2024, attempted assassination of President Donald Trump.
Trump was shot in the ear during a rally in Bulter, Pennsylvania. Shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks was killed by a Secret Service counter-sniper, but not before firefighter Corey Comperatore was killed and two other rallygoers were wounded.
The discipline against the six agents was issued in recent months, according to ABC.
The suspensions ranged from 10 to 42 days, an official told ABC.
The suspensions were without pay, per NBC.
At least two of agents appealed the suspensions, CNN reported.
Matt Quinn, deputy director of the Secret Service, told CBS that suspended agents were assigned to restricted duty or roles that carried less operational responsibility when they returned.
He said suspensions followed a federally mandated procedure.
“We are laser-focused on fixing the root cause of the problem,” Quinn said, explaining that dismissing agents was not the right answer.
“We aren’t going to fire our way out of this,” Quinn continued. “We’re going to focus on the root cause and fix the deficiencies that put us in that situation.
“Secret Service is totally accountable for Butler. Butler was an operational failure, and we are focused today on ensuring that it never happens again.”
Since the Butler assassination attempt, the Secret Service has added new military grade drones and mobile command posts that will allow for the Secret Service and local law enforcement to communicate in ways they could not a year ago.
As noted by Newsweek, a bipartisan congressional task force report on the assassination attempt said failure was in the cards long before that day.
“The various failures in planning, execution, and leadership on and before July 13, 2024, and the preexisting conditions that undermined the effectiveness of the human and material assets deployed that day, coalesced to create an environment in which the former President — and everyone at the campaign event — were exposed to grave danger,” the report said.
“The Secret Service did not provide clear guidance to its state and local partners about which entity was responsible for the area. An expressed lack of manpower and assets was not sufficiently addressed, resulting in coverage gaps on the ground,” the report continued.
As noted by ABC, a Department of Homeland Security review panned not just the efforts of agents that day, but the entire agency.
“The Secret Service does not perform at the elite levels needed to discharge its critical mission,” the report said. “The Secret Service has become bureaucratic, complacent, and static even though risks have multiplied and technology has evolved.”
Kimberly Cheatle, the Secret Service director at the time, resigned 10 days after Trump was shot.
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