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Six US Secret Service agents were suspended after an internal probe into the July 2024 attempt to assassinate former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, sources close to the situation said.
The disciplinary action includes five agents who were based at the Pittsburgh field office, whose job was to coordinate local security, and one agent who was directly assigned to Trump’s protection detail. The suspensions vary from 10 to 42 days without pay. The suspensions haven’t been publicly disclosed yet, and the individuals requested anonymity.
The attack, which took place on July 13, 2024, stunned the country and prompted scathing criticism of the Secret Service. Trump was wounded as a bullet grazed his ear during the rally, an assault which also killed local firefighter Corey Comperatore and injured two others who were there critically. Trump’s defiant fist pump and shouts of “fight, fight” in response to the shooting became a defining image of the campaign.
The shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, had taken up a position on top of a building overlooking the arena and began firing with a semi-automatic rifle before himself being shot dead by a Secret Service sniper. The assault led to the instant resignation of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, who conceded to egregious security failings in testimony to Congress.
Cheatle disclosed that Secret Service officers were notified two to five times about a suspicious person before the attack. Her testimony created bipartisan concern and prompted the creation of a special House task force to probe the security failure and examine leadership responsibility.
The Department of Homeland Security that controls the Secret Service opened its own independent review which revealed systemic breakdowns in coordination and threat response in the field, led by the Pittsburgh office. It is not clear when the suspended agents were officially informed about their discipline.
The attempt on Trump’s life was the most severe security failure of a US presidential candidate in years. Two months later, Trump narrowly survived another alleged hit at one of his golf games at his West Palm Beach club. He was not injured in that attempt, but it added fuel to charges of the ineffectiveness of Secret Service operations.
The upcoming one-year anniversary of the July 2024 shooting has renewed public and political interest in how the breakdown in protection happened and what alterations have since been made in order to better protect high-profile political leaders in the US.
