The shooting of former President of the United States Donald Trump (Republican) at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last Saturday (July 13) cast doubt on the effectiveness of the North American Secret Service, responsible for security at the event. The failure could represent the biggest crisis for the agency since the attack on the country’s 40th president, Ronald Reagan, in 1981.
Also compared to the attack on Theodore Roosevelt in 1912, the attack on Trump highlights the security challenges faced by the Secret Service during election periods. The agency’s director, Kimberly Cheatle, who took office in 2022, is under investigation. The information is from the WSJ.
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The investigations revolve around how prepared the Secret Service was. primarily on the question of how the shooter, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, lone until then, managed to position himself with an AR-15-style rifle on a roof near the stage and open fire on the Republican candidate.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) efforts will likely focus on understanding the work done by the Secret Service to secure buildings near the rally. Bill Pickle, former deputy assistant director of the Secret Service, criticized the security breach, stressing that “there is no way he should have been able to make those shots.”
The agency, which routinely inspects buildings near high-security events, will likely review its communication practices with local authorities and use of technology to identify threats.
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In response to the attack, US President Joe Biden (Democrat) emphasized the importance of security to Trump, instructing the head of the Secret Service to employ “all resources” necessary and ordering an independent review of security measures implemented during the attack on trump. rally.
Following the incident, the Secret Service declared on Sunday, July 14, that it is confident in the security strategy created for the Republican National Convention. The event starts this Monday (July 15th) and will confirm the official nomination of Donald Trump as the party’s candidate for the November 5th elections.
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