Multiple Secret Service Agents on Administrative Leave, Barred from Investigative or Protective Work
Following an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump during a rally in July, at least five Secret Service agents have been placed on modified duty. This includes the special agent in charge of the Pittsburgh field office, along with three other agents from that office, which was responsible for security arrangements at the event. One of the individuals affected was part of Trump’s protective detail. All agents are currently on administrative leave, preventing them from conducting any investigative or protective activities. Multiple investigations are ongoing to unravel a series of security failures that allowed a man with an AR-style rifle to come close enough to injure Trump, who was hit in the ear but suffered no serious harm, though one spectator was killed and two more sustained injuries. The incident has led to significant scrutiny of the Secret Service, resulting in the resignation of its then-director, Kim Cheatle. During a congressional hearing, it was revealed that officials had received multiple warnings about a suspicious individual before the shooting. The new acting director, Ronald Rowe Jr., expressed that he could not justify why the identified security risks, including the rooftop from which the attack was carried out, were not adequately addressed.
At least five Secret Service agents have been placed on modified duty after the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in July, a law enforcement official said.
They include the special agent in charge of the Pittsburgh field office and three other agents assigned to that office, which was responsible for the security planning ahead of the July 13th rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, according to the law enforcement official who had direct knowledge of the matter. One of the five agents was assigned to Trump‘s protective detail, the official said.
The official was not authorized to publicly disclose details of the personnel investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The agents are on administrative leave, meaning they cannot do investigative or protective work.
Multiple investigations have been launched as officials probe a complicated law enforcement failure that allowed a man with an AR-style rifle to get close enough to shoot and injure Trump at the rally.
Trump was struck in the ear, but avoided serious injury. One spectator was killed and two others were injured.
The shooting was a devastating failure of one of the agency’s core duties and led to the resignation of the Secret Service’s then-director, Kim Cheatle.
At a congressional hearing after the assassination attempt, Cheatle acknowledged that the Secret Service was told about a suspicious person two to five times before the shooting. She also revealed that the roof from which Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire had been identified as a potential vulnerability days before the rally.
Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr., who took over after Cheatle’s resignation, has said he “cannot defend why that roof was not better secured.”
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