US Secret Service preliminary report reveals communication breakdown ahead of attempted assassination on Trump News
US Secret Service, Public domain
US Secret Service preliminary report reveals communication breakdown ahead of attempted assassination on Trump

The US Secret Service published a five-page document on Friday that sheds light on critical communication failures and missed opportunities leading up to the July 13 assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where Trump was grazed by a bullet. The summary, part of an upcoming report, underscores how Secret Service breakdowns in coordination with local law enforcement hindered the agency’s effectiveness, ultimately allowing a gunman to fire from an unsecured rooftop.

Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr. admitted during a press conference accompanying the release of Friday’s summary that a lack of clear guidance from the agency to local law enforcement, unaddressed line-of-sight vulnerabilities at the rally site, and “complacency” among some agents left former president Trump exposed to sniper fire.

The report outlines several critical failures, including that the roof of a building less than 150 yards from where Trump was speaking had been flagged as a potential threat before the event but officials failed to take necessary precautions, according to Rowe. Some local police were also unaware of two communications centers on site, leading to a breakdown in coordination as officers didn’t realize their radio transmissions weren’t reaching the Secret Service.

Local law enforcement also relied heavily on cell phones rather than Secret Service radio frequencies to share vital information. As officers searched for the suspect before the shooting, crucial details were relayed “via mobile/cellular devices in staggered or fragmented fashion” instead of using the Secret Service’s dedicated network.

The report indicates that a local police department sought tactical support from a neighboring agency, but this was not communicated to the Secret Service’s Pittsburgh Field Office or the Secret Service advance team. Consequently, a tactical unit stationed on the second floor of the AGR International Inc. building — where the gunman later accessed the roof to open fire—had no prior coordination with the Secret Service. Despite concerns raised by several law enforcement agencies about the team’s position inside the building, there was no follow-up discussion about adjusting their location or relocating them to the roof. The report further notes that no law enforcement personnel were stationed on the roof where the shooter ultimately positioned himself.

The report shows that the Secret Service knew beforehand that the rally site, chosen by Trump’s staff to accommodate a larger crowd, posed security risks due to potential lines of sight for an attacker. However, no additional security measures were implemented on July 13, and the Secret Service lacked detailed information about the local law enforcement support available.

“It is important that we hold ourselves to account for the failures of July 13 and that we take the lessons learned to make sure that we do not have another mission failure like this again,” Rowe stated. “What has become clear to me is that we need a shift in paradigm in how we conduct our operations.”

Friday’s report is the Secret Service’s most formal effort yet to document the mistakes of the July 13 shooting and comes at a time of renewed scrutiny following Sunday’s arrest of a man accused of stalking Trump at a Florida golf course, allegedly planning to carry out a second assassination attempt on the former president.

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