Washington: In a major development, the US Secret Service now acknowledged it denied some requests by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s campaign for increased security at his events in the years before the assassination attempt on him at a recent rally. In the immediate aftermath of the July 13 attack, the law enforcement agency had denied rejecting such requests. But the Secret Service acknowledged late Saturday, a week after the attempt on Trump’s life, that it had turned back some requests to increase security around the former president.
Video: Moment when former US President Donald Trump attacked
Security lapse during Trump's rally
The reversal is likely to be a key focus of a congressional hearing Monday where Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle is expected to appear before lawmakers who have been expressing anger over security lapses that allowed a 20-year-old gunman to climb atop the roof of a nearby building at Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and fire his weapon. Trump was wounded in the right ear, one rallygoer was killed and two others were injured.
“The Secret Service has a vast, dynamic, and intricate mission. Every day we work in a dynamic threat environment to ensure our protectees are safe and secure across multiple events, travel, and other challenging environments,” the agency’s chief spokesperson, Anthony Guglielmi, said in a statement released late Saturday to The Washington Post. The newspaper was the first to report on the agency’s reversal, which it said was based on detailed questions submitted to the agency.
What the Secret Service said
“We execute a comprehensive and layered strategy to balance personnel, technology, and specialized operational needs,” Guglielmi said. He said the agency will rely on state and local law enforcement departments in some cases where specialized Secret Service units are unavailable. “In some instances where specific Secret Service specialized units or resources were not provided, the agency made modifications to ensure the security of the protectee,” Gugliemi said. “This may include utilizing state or local partners to provide specialized functions or otherwise identifying alternatives to reduce public exposure of a protectee.”
After the assassination attempt, as reports began to circulate that the agency had denied the Trump campaign’s requests, Guglielmi issued a denial. There is “an untrue assertion that a member of the former President’s team requested additional security resources & that those were rebuffed,” Gugliemi said in a social media post. “This is absolutely false. In fact, we added protective resources & technology & capabilities as part of the increased campaign travel tempo.”
Authorities want to know how a shooter was able to get on top of a roof so close to where former Trump was speaking and open fire. That is one of the focuses of the investigation into Saturday's assassination attempt on Trump as Republicans gather in Milwaukee for their national convention and President Joe Biden implored Americans to reject political violence.
Here’s a look at what we know so far:
How did a gunman get so close to Trump?
The US Secret Service is investigating how the gunman armed with an AR-style rifle was able to get on a nearby roof and shoot and injure the former president at a rally Saturday in Pennsylvania. The gunman, who officials said was killed by Secret Service personnel, fired multiple shots at the stage from an “elevated position outside of the rally venue,” the agency said. Trump was bloodied and said he was “shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear.” A spectator was killed.
The roof was fewer than 150 meters from where Trump was speaking. Biden has directed an independent review of the security at the rally.
What is known about the Trump rally shooter?
Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old nursing home employee from suburban Pittsburgh who tried to shoot Trump was, a registered Republican who packed explosives in the vehicle he drove to the campaign rally an hour from his home.
Authorities said it was an attempted assassination but haven’t determined what motivated Crooks to try to kill Trump. Law enforcement officials were working Sunday to learn more about the young man from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, to determine what motivated him. The FBI has not yet identified any underlying ideology or threatening writing or social media posts from Crooks, who had no past criminal cases against him, according to public court records. The FBI believes Crooks acted alone and the shooting was being investigated as a potential act of domestic terrorism.
What do we know about the other victims?
Governor Josh Shapiro on Sunday said the man killed at the Trump rally, Corey Comperatore, "dove on his family to protect them.” "Corey died a hero," the governor said. Comperatore, 50, was a former fire chief. Pennsylvania State Police identified two other men who were shot as David Dutch, 57, of New Kensington, and James Copenhaver, 74, of Moon Township. Both men remained hospitalized and were listed in stable condition, state police said. Biden decries violence in national address In a prime-time national address, the president said Sunday that political passions can run high but “we must never descend into violence.”
“We can do this,” Biden implored, saying the nation was founded on a democracy that gave reason and balances a chance to prevail over brute force. “American democracy — where arguments are made in good faith. American democracy where the rule of law is respected. Where decency, dignity, fair play aren’t just quaint notions, they’re living, breathing realities.”
Trump arrives in Milwaukee as RNC goes on
The former president is Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention. Trump’s airplane touched down Sunday. The four-day event kicks off Monday with thousands of Republicans coming together to formally choose him as their 2024 presidential nominee. His aides said he was in “great spirits” and doing well. Saturday's attack on Trump has put a heightened focus on the safety and security of the event.
Trump said he was going to delay his trip by two days because of the attempted assassination “but have just decided that I cannot allow a ‘shooter,’ or potential assassin, to force change to schedule, or anything else.”
Have there been other presidential assassination attempts?
Saturday's attack was the most serious attempt to assassinate a president or presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981, but there have been multiple instances of political violence targeting U.S. presidents, former presidents and major party presidential candidates. Four U.S. presidents have been assassinated - Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley and John Kennedy.
(With inputs from agency)
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