Latest news with #operationalfailure
BBC News
10-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Secret Service suspended staff for failings over Trump assassination attempt
The US Secret Service issued suspensions for six personnel over failings at one of Donald Trump's rallies last year, during which a gunman attempted to assassinate the Republican, an official has Quinn, the service's deputy director, told the BBC's US partner CBS News that the gathering in Butler, Pennsylvania, when Matthew Crooks fired at Trump and killed another attendee, was an "operational failure".One of Crooks's bullets grazed the ear of Trump, who was then rushed to safety. The attacker was shot is not clear when the staff suspensions were formally issued, and US media reports differ on whether or not they have already been served. Speaking to CBS, Quinn said the staff were given penalties ranging from 10 to 42 days of leave without pay or benefits."Secret Service is totally accountable for Butler," he explained. "Butler was an operational failure and we are focused today on ensuring that it never happens again."Quinn, who was appointed to his role in May this year, added that he was "laser-focused on fixing the root cause of the problem", but his organisation would not "fire our way out of this".Quinn told CBS a number of improvements had already been made, involving military-grade drones and improved mobile command posts that could now be used by agents in the identities of the suspended staff and their roles on the day of the attack have not been disclosed. Gary O'Donoghue: What I witnessed at Trump rallyReport identifies 'litany' of failures by Secret ServiceWife of man killed at Trump rally struggles with loss The news comes just days before the anniversary of the attack on 13 July 2024. Rally attendee Corey Comperatore was killed and two other people incident prompted the resignation of the service's then-director, Kimberly Secret Service has been under intense scrutiny for the last 12 months, and has faced sharp criticism from US Congress September, a 94-page Senate report found that security failures and lack of communication within the US Secret Service "directly contributed" to the incident, and that many issues remained unaddressed two months attack was also described as preventable in another report, published in December, by a House of Representatives taskforce. That paper identified the main lapse as being a failure to secure the rooftop from which Crooks opened who was successfully re-elected in November, was provided with heightened security in the aftermath of the attack - ensuring that he received protection at a level above what is typical for a presidential September, he was again rushed to safety by Secret Service agents after a second would-be gunman lurked in bushes at Trump's golf course in Florida. The FBI described this, too, as an apparent assassination attempt. The suspect in that second incident was detained.
Fox News
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Secret Service suspends 6 agents tasked with protecting Trump during July 2024 assassination attempt
Six Secret Service agents were suspended without pay or benefits following a gunman's attempt to take President Donald Trump's life at a Pennsylvania rally last July. Matt Quinn, the agency's deputy director, told CBS News on Wednesday that they "weren't going to fire [their] way out of this," but did say they are "laser focused on fixing the root cause of the problem." Quinn told the outlet that the agents' penalty ranged from 10 to 42 days of unpaid leave, adding that they were placed in restricted roles with less responsibility once they returned to the job. He said the disciplinary actions were in accordance with a federally mandated process. Fox News Digital reached out to the Secret Service for independent confirmation, but did not hear back by the time of publication. The agency faced heavy criticism following the security failure, which allowed gunman Thomas Crooks to open fire toward the rally's stage in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old firefighter, father and husband attending the rally, was killed while Trump's ear was grazed by a bullet and two other men were injured by gunfire. Crooks was killed by a Secret Service sniper. "Secret Service is totally accountable for Butler," Quinn said to CBS. "Butler was an operational failure and we are focused today on ensuring that it never happens again." He also said the agency is focusing on the "root cause" of the operational failure and fixing "the deficiencies that put us in that situation." Since the Butler rally, Quinn said the Secret Service has introduced a new fleet of military-grade drones and mobile command posts to improve radio communications with local law enforcement. The agency faced more criticism weeks later when a second assassination attempt on Trump took place in West Palm Beach, Florida. Though it was stopped, then-Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned and the agency underwent several investigations and congressional hearings. A bipartisan House task force released a 180-page report in December stating that the incident in Butler was "preventable," citing "preexisting" leadership and training issues that "created an environment" where security failures were possible. In the report, lawmakers also pointed out that the Secret Service did not coordinate or plan well with local law enforcement.
