The U.S. Secret Service acknowledged multiple failures on Friday regarding the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on July 13 during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Acting Director Ronald Rowe stated at a press conference that the Secret Service is solely responsible for protecting the president and presidential candidates, emphasizing the need for the agency to operate independently of the Department of Homeland Security. “The Secret Service did not give clear guidance or direction to our local law enforcement partners,” he said. He noted there were significant communication issues, such as the Secret Service not co-locating its security room with local law enforcement and over-reliance on mobile devices, which led to information being siloed.
Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr. on the assassination attempt of President Trump in Pennsylvania:
“This was a failure on the part of the United States Secret Service. It’s important that we hold ourselves accountable for the failures of July 13th…” pic.twitter.com/uMy23eQvHV
— Conservative War Machine (@WarMachineRR) September 20, 2024
Rowe provided a timeline that illustrated how these issues contributed to inaction by the Secret Service in the moments before Trump was shot at the rally. “With respect to diligence, line of sight issues were acknowledged but not properly mitigated,” he stated. He indicated that while some members of the advance team acted diligently, complacency among others resulted in a breach of security protocols.
🚨 I am sick of hearing Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe promise a "paradigm shift" in presidential protection!
After TWO assassination attempts, President Trump does not have time to wait for a "paradigm shift."
While rank and file Secret Service have done incredible… pic.twitter.com/xfNxl7vSi4
— Kayleigh McEnany (@kayleighmcenany) September 20, 2024
He confirmed that the Secret Service agents who failed in their duties that day would face consequences through a “robust table of penalties.” In light of the July 13 events and a second assassination attempt on Trump that occurred on Sunday, Rowe announced that the agency would undergo a transformational “paradigm shift” in its operational approach.
Liar Ronald Rowe needs to be FIRED 🔥
Why is he so defensive? Because he is GUILTY! pic.twitter.com/A4HZPovcpw
— Joni Job (@jj_talking) September 18, 2024
“The paradigm shift will be a driving force to move the Secret Service from a state of reaction to a state of readiness,” he said. “The vision is for the Secret Service to be more agile, with the ability to escalate protection to the highest levels for numerous protectees for undetermined periods of time. But in order to do this, we need additional personnel, technical assets, and equipment for the sustainment of immediate and future needs.”
