Congress: Trump assassination attempt in Pennsylvania in 2024 represents a major security failure

Trump assassination attempt

 America: Six Secret Service agents suspended after Trump assassination attempt failure

The US Secret Service has suspended six agents for periods ranging from 10 to 42 days without pay for their failures during last year's assassination attempt on US President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Deputy Director Matt Quinn told CBS News on Wednesday that these agents will not be terminated, but upon their return to work, they will be assigned to positions with less operational responsibility. Quinn stated that the agency will not terminate these agents, but will focus on addressing the root causes and shortcomings that led to this situation.

Details of the assassination attempt and the Senate report

On July 13, 2024, Trump was shot in the ear by Thomas Matthew Crooks during a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Fairgrounds. This attempt resulted in Trump's ear injury. The incident resulted in the death of firefighter Cory Comperatore while protecting his family from Crooks' bullets, and two other people were critically injured before a Secret Service sniper shot down Crooks, 20, who was positioned on an unattended rooftop, facing Trump.

Last September, a scathing Senate report on the assassination attempt concluded that "numerous avoidable planning and operational failures by the Secret Service contributed to Crooks's ability to fire." The report noted that these failures included "unclarified roles and responsibilities, insufficient coordination with state law enforcement, lack of effective communications, malfunctioning counter-drone systems, and other factors."

Secret Service Response and Future Actions

Despite a second assassination attempt on Trump two months after the first at his golf course in Palm Beach, Florida, Quinn insisted that the Secret Service "bears full responsibility for the Butler incident." He added, "The Butler incident was an operational failure, and we are focused today on ensuring it doesn't happen again."

As part of the performance improvement effort, the official noted that the agency now has a new fleet of drones and mobile command centers that allow agents to communicate directly via radio with local law enforcement.