New details released in Secret Service report on Trump assassination attempt – NBC New York

A new Secret Service report into the July assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump says several employees were aware of the obvious line-of-sight risks but considered them “acceptable” and that the farm equipment was intended to block the view from a nearby building where it opened Sagittarius. fire was never used.

The internal review released Friday is the latest in a series of reports and investigations into the July 13 shooting at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, that left one rally-goer dead and two others injured. Trump was shot in the ear before being escorted off the stage.

A Secret Service sniper shot and killed the shooter, Thomas Crooks.

A classified version of the report, prepared by the agency’s Office of Professional Responsibility, was shared with members of Congress, while a seven-page unclassified synopsis was released Friday. An early version of the agency’s investigation into its own conduct was released in September.

The report largely echoes the findings of other investigations that found poor communication between the Secret Service and local law enforcement agencies assisting that day and the agency’s failure to prevent nearby vantage points, including a building just 150 yards from the podium where Trump was scheduled to speak. — from use by a weapon bearer.

But it contains more details about the failures of the agency, which has been scrutinizing its activities in what has been described as a “seamless” mission to protect top US leaders.

Line of sight problems

The report accused the Secret Service of failing to find a way to reduce the risk associated with the clustering of nearby buildings that provide an unobstructed view of the catwalk.

Crooks climbed onto one of the buildings and fired eight shots before being killed.

“Several Secret Service employees mistakenly assessed these line-of-sight risks to the former president as acceptable, resulting in an inadequate removal,” the report said.

The report said that the supervisors expected large pieces of farm equipment to be placed to block the view between the buildings and the stage, but in the end they were not used.

The report did not explain why they were not used, but said staff who visited the site before the rally to plan security measures did not tell their supervisors that line-of-sight issues had not been resolved.

Acting Director of the US Secret Service Ronald Roe spoke on Friday to outline the findings of the agency’s investigation into the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Communication problems

The report detailed how the Secret Service set up a security room for the event, where all law enforcement officers assisting that day were to be based. But only Pennsylvania State Police found anyone in the security room, while local emergency responders had a separate room, the report said.

“The advance team failed to take steps to ensure that the security room was staffed in accordance with Secret Service methodology,” the report said.

The internal review also found that a group of Secret Service snipers did not take a radio that was offered to them by a local law enforcement team, impairing their ability to communicate.

“These communication breakdowns contributed significantly to the failure of the mission, leaving the majority of law enforcement officers conducting protective operations, including former President Trump’s bodyguards, unaware of key information that led to the assassination attempt,” the report said.

Weather

The report said the high temperatures that day and the need to care for heat-affected rally participants played a role in distracting security officials.

One local emergency management team on the ground reported fielding 251 requests for medical assistance that day, an internal review said.

“The lack of coordination with campaign personnel on these issues resulted in a greater than expected proportion of security personnel being diverted to assist in the medical response,” the report said.

Responsibility

Friday’s report did not say whether anyone in the Secret Service had been fired or otherwise reprimanded. He suggested that the performance of some employees may require “corrective counseling” or “disciplinary action” and vowed to prosecute anyone who violated agency policy.

The agency’s Office of Integrity will now review the findings.

The Associated Press previously reported that at least five Secret Service agents had been reassigned. Then-director Kimberly Cheatle resigned more than a week after filming, saying she took full responsibility for the failure.

The Secret Service escorted former President Donald Trump backstage after an apparent assassination attempt at his campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.