Washington [US], September 22: The US Secret Service on Friday detailed gaps in communication and lack of diligence uncovered by a review into the assassination attempt against US presidential candidate Donald Trump at a campaign rally in July.
Thomas Matthew Crooks was able to climb to an elevated position with an assault rifle and fire a number of shots at Trump at rally near Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, with a bullet grazing the former US president's right ear.
Secret Service acting director Ronald Rowe said at a press briefing the review "identified deficiencies in the advanced planning and its implementation by Secret Service personnel." "While some members of the advance team were very diligent, there was complacency on the part of others that led to a breach of security protocols," Rowe said, adding the review process was moving "into the accountability phase."
US Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle resigned in the wake of the assassination attempt, which also left one audience member dead and two other spectators badly injured. Crooks was shot dead.
Rowe said that the Secret Service has elevated its protective model amid today's heightened and hyperdynamic threat environment.
"What has become clear to me is that we need a shift in paradigm in how we conduct our protective operations," Rowe said. The agency is seeking additional funding, personnel and equipment to go "from a state of reaction to a state of readiness."
Friday's internal findings suggest Trump's security detail was not aware that state and local law enforcement were intensely pursuing a suspicious person, who turned out to be the gunman.
Had they been aware, agents might have moved Trump to another location during the search, according to the report.Law enforcement also communicated vital information outside the Secret Service's radio frequencies.
Trump is seeking to return to the White House, after leaving it in 2021, by defeating US Vice President Kamala Harris in the November 5 presidential election.
Source: Qatar Tribune
