‘Stunning security failures’ in Pennsylvania attack on Trump: US House report

A bipartisan House panel has slammed the US Secret Service for failing to prevent the an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July. In a report released Monday, the task force concluded that the attack, in which a bullet grazed past Trump’s ear and killed one rallygoer, “should not have happened” due to major security failures.

The report, based on thousands of pages of documents and nearly two dozen transcribed interviews with state and local officials, highlights what it calls “stunning security failures” and specifically points to “fragmented lines of communication and unclear chains of command” between the Secret Service and Pennsylvania state and local law enforcement.

Members of both the House and Senate have repeatedly questioned why the US Secret Service, the agency responsible for protecting the country’s top leaders, failed to effectively communicate with local authorities. Despite the building being recognised as a security risk, it was left so poorly protected that the gunman, Thomas Matthew, was able to climb onto the roof and shoot at the former president. While the assassination attempt failed, the gunman was eventually killed by Secret Service agents.

“Federal, state, and local law enforcement officers could have engaged Thomas Matthew Crooks at several pivotal moments,” the report stated.

Lawmakers added that throughout the afternoon, “as Crooks’s behaviour became increasingly suspicious, fragmented lines of communication allowed Crooks to evade law enforcement” and climb onto the unsecured roof, where he would eventually open fire, according to news agency AP.

“Put simply, the evidence obtained by the Task Force to date shows the tragic and shocking events of July 13 were preventable and should not have happened,” the report continued.
The task force — made up of seven Republicans and six Democrats — has been investigating the July 13 shooting and the associated security lapses.
Additionally, the task force has begun looking into a second assassination attempt on Donald Trump at his golf course in West Palm Beach, where the gunman reportedly waited for 12 hours to target Trump. However, the US Secret Service successfully thwarted the attempt.