In July, a gunman injured former US President Donald Trump in the ear. The Secret Service has been criticized since then and is now listing failings.
The Secret Service has admitted mistakes in connection with the July assassination attempt on US presidential candidate Donald Trump. An internal investigation showed “deficiencies in advance planning and implementation” in protecting the ex-president during the election campaign appearance in Pennsylvania, as the interim head of the Secret Service, Ronald Rowe, told journalists on Friday (local time). “While some members of the advance planning team worked very carefully, there was a complacency among others that resulted in a breach of security protocols,” he added.
The Secret Service, which is responsible for protecting current and former presidents, came under massive criticism after the attempted assassination of Trump on July 13. A man fired several shots at Trump from a roof at the election rally in the small town of Butler, which the 78-year-old only survived by a hair’s breadth.
Secret Service chief resigns after assassination attempt on Donald Trump
According to Rowe, Secret Service agents were informed that there was a man on the roof of the campaign rally who was being fired upon, but that information was not adequately relayed. In addition, the bodyguards did not coordinate sufficiently with local security authorities and relied too much on “mobile devices,” as Rowe continued.
After the attempted assassination of Trump, then-Secret Service chief Kimberly Cheatle resigned and at least five officials were placed on leave. Rowe called for the Secret Service to be better equipped and announced a “paradigm shift.” He wants a “more agile” authority that can carry out its tasks at the “highest level”. The House of Representatives passed a law on Friday that would provide presidential candidates with the same personal protection as presidents. The regulation still has to be confirmed by the Senate.
There was another suspected assassination attempt on Trump last week. A suspect was arrested.
