The director of the US Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle, has sparked a heated debate following her explanation. As why an agent was not stationed on the roof where gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire on former President Donald Trump. Cheatle, who is facing calls for resignation over the security failure, revealed that the agency deemed the roof of a nearby warehouse too risky for an agent’s placement during Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
On Sunday, Crooks, 20, scaled the building and took position on the roof, from where he fired at Trump, hitting him in the ear and killing a rally attendee. Cheatle explained to ABC News that the decision not to place an agent on the roof was due to its sloped design, which was considered too dangerous for a security post. Instead, the Secret Service opted to secure the building from the inside
This lapse in security allowed Crooks to evade both police and Secret Service agents, despite having been flagged as suspicious. Witnesses reported seeing Crooks climb onto the roof with his AR-style rifle, but security officials failed to act in time to prevent the attack.
Cheatle admitted that the Secret Service was aware of the building’s vulnerabilities but maintained that no personnel were assigned to the roof. She emphasized that the rapid unfolding of events and the challenges in locating Crooks contributed to the failure. “The buck stops with me. It was unacceptable, and it’s something that shouldn’t happen again,” Cheatle stated.
Dan Bongino, a conservative radio host and former Secret Service agent, claimed an “unimpeachable source” informed him that an agent was supposed to be on the roof where Crooks shot from but “didn’t show up.” “According to my source, that roof was supposed to be a police post… [there] was supposed to be someone there,” Bongino said. “They’re now making up excuses saying the pitch of the roof. My source says to me that no one knows why the post didn’t show up.”
Former FBI special agent Kenneth Gray criticized the Secret Service for its poor handling of the situation, suggesting that the agency’s recent focus on increasing diversity may have impacted its operational effectiveness. Republicans and other critics are calling for a thorough investigation into the incident. House Judiciary Committee member Kelly Armstrong of North Dakota stated, “Somebody, somewhere has a lot of serious questions to answer.”
Cheatle’s handling of the incident has drawn intense scrutiny, especially since she was not present at the initial FBI press conference. US President Joe Biden has expressed confidence in the Secret Service’s commitment but questioned whether the agency could have anticipated the attack. He stressed that the Secret Service members who responded were willing to risk their lives but left open the question of whether they should have prevented the incident.
