Secret Service Director: Roof Too Steep for Snipers
Licans and Trump supporters have condemned Cheatle’s failures in protecting the former president, calling for accountability and justice for the victims of the attack. Some have also raised questions about the competence and preparedness of the Secret Service under her leadership.
News of the security lapses and missteps leading up to the attempted assassination has fueled speculation and concern about the safety of high-profile political figures and events, particularly in light of heightened tensions and security threats across the country.
The Secret Service director said the security agency did not station snipers on top of the Pennsylvania roof from which a gunman shot former President Donald Trump last weekend because it was “sloped.”
Kimberly Cheatle, the Secret Service chief refusing calls to step down after Trump was shot in the head, told ABC News that federal officials opted to forgo snipers on the rooftop that was identified as a security threat days before the event.
“That building in particular has a sloped roof at its highest point. And so, you know, there’s a safety factor that would be considered there that we wouldn’t want to put somebody up on a sloped roof,” she said. “And so, you know, the decision was made to secure the building, from inside.”
Three counter-snipers were positioned in the building underneath the roof from which Saturday’s gunman fired multiple shots killing one rallygoer and injuring three others, including Trump. The event’s security “command center” was even notified of the shooter moments before the would-be assassin began firing into the crowd.
“The shooter was actually identified as a potential person of suspicion,” Cheatle told ABC. “Unfortunately, with the rapid succession of how things unfolded, by the time that individual was eventually located, they were on the rooftop and were able to fire off at the former president.”
Cheatle told the network, “The buck stops with me,” but she continued to resist calls to resign her post as head of the federal security agency.
Republican Colorado Congresswoman Lauren Boebert introduced legislation Monday to strip the Secret Service director of her salary and expense reimbursements after last weekend’s failed assassination attempt of the GOP presidential nominee.
A source told The Federalist on Saturday that Trump’s security detail had requested more protection and resources, but the Biden administration’s Department of Homeland Security denied it “time and again.”
The federal agency has continued to place blame for the shooting on local law enforcement, whom officials coopt for presidential events such as the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where former President Trump lost part of his right ear. But the Secret Service is ultimately responsible for the overall security plan, and according to the Washington Post, “also has primary responsibility for addressing the risk of a long-range shooter and blocking lines of sight, including by instructing local police to secure or stand guard at buildings that could provide an opportunity for an attacker.”
“The Service is responsible for everything, not just the inner perimeter,” one former Secret Service agent told CNN. “They should make sure all of this is covered.”
Trump made his first public appearance since the failed assassination attempt at the Republican National Convention (RNC) Monday night. The former president walked out to the arena in Milwaukee to the song “God Bless the U.S.A.” as delegates welcomed the former commander-in-chief to the convention for a third White House nomination.
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