The director of the US Secret Service has sparked a heated debate online with her explanation for why no agent was stationed on the roof where gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire on former President Donald Trump.
Kimberly Cheatle, under pressure to resign over the security lapse, disclosed that the Secret Service—responsible for the protection of sitting and former presidents—deemed the roof of a nearby warehouse too risky for an agent’s placement during Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. On Sunday, Crooks, 20, scaled the building and fired at Trump, hitting him in the ear and killing a rally attendee. Cheatle explained to ABC News that the roof’s sloped design was considered too dangerous for a security post, leading the agency to secure the building from the inside instead.
This decision allowed Crooks to evade both police and Secret Service agents, despite having been flagged as suspicious. Witnesses reported seeing Crooks climb onto the roof with his AR-style rifle, but security officials did not act in time to prevent the attack.
Cheatle admitted that the Secret Service was aware of the building’s vulnerabilities but defended the decision not to place personnel on the roof. She emphasized that the rapid progression of events and the difficulty in locating Crooks contributed to the security failure. “The buck stops with me. It was unacceptable, and it’s something that shouldn’t happen again,” Cheatle stated.
Former FBI special agent Kenneth Gray criticized the Secret Service’s handling of the situation, suggesting that the agency’s recent focus on increasing diversity might have affected its operational efficiency. Critics, including Republicans, are calling for a thorough investigation into the incident. House Judiciary Committee member Kelly Armstrong of North Dakota remarked, “Somebody, somewhere has a lot of serious questions to answer.”
Cheatle’s handling of the incident has drawn scrutiny, particularly since she was not present at the initial FBI press conference. US President Joe Biden has expressed confidence in the Secret Service’s dedication but questioned whether the agency could have anticipated the attack. He praised the responding Secret Service members’ willingness to risk their lives but left open the question of whether the incident could have been prevented. The Justice Department, not Homeland Security, is overseeing the investigation into the shooting.
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