Director of the United States Secret Service (USSS ) Kimberly Cheatle recently admitted that she greatly failed in the implementation and execution of security during former President Donald Trump's rally in Pennsylvania, where roof gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks attempted to assassinate the ex-POTUS.
Cheatle's excuse? She acknowledged that she failed to place an agent near the roof because the warehouse was 134 meters away from where Trump spoke and that is "a risky position for stationing an agent."
New details have also revealed that a team of local police snipers were inside the building when the 20-year-old Crooks opened fire, shot Trump in the ear and killed a member of the rally crowd. The gunman was even able to evade cops and USSS three times despite being deemed "suspicious" and could have been on the roof for around 30 minutes before he pulled the trigger. (Related: Trump shot, survives ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT in Pennsylvania; shooter, one rally attendee killed, others wounded.)
The most recent security failures have raised calls for Cheatle to step down. The embattled chief refused to resign. Instead, she is giving weak excuses for her negligence, even though security experts have said a primary responsibility of law enforcement would be to secure elevated areas near a high-level protectee. "That building in particular has a sloped roof at its highest point. And so, you know, there's a safety factor that would be considered there that we wouldn't want to put somebody up on a sloped roof," she told ABC News in an interview on Tuesday. "The decision was made to secure the building from inside."
"The shooter was identified as a potential person of suspicion but unfortunately, with the rapid succession of how things unfolded, by the time that individual was eventually located, they were on the rooftop and were able to fire off at the former president," she further claimed. She was referencing claims by witnesses that they alerted law enforcement about the threat as they saw Crooks carrying an AR-style rifle, but agents weren't able to eliminate the threat in time. A government sniper positioned behind Trump while he was speaking took out the would-be assassin, but only after he began firing.
Cheatle accepts that the major mistake was on her. "The buck stops with me. It was unacceptable," she told the news outlet. "And it's something that shouldn't happen again."
This chilling admission enraged a lot of users of X, formerly Twitter. Former Army Ranger Sean Powell was among those who registered his anger with Cheatle's excuse in a rage-filled tweet. "Holy s***. A sloped roof? That is a total BS excuse," he wrote. "Our snipers used to set in on mountain tops in Afghanistan. On the down slopes if need be. The stupidity of this statement explains so much of why s*** hit the fan that day. Absolute incompetence."
Former U.S. senator from South Carolina Jim DeMint also commented, "This sad excuse about defies believability."
Despite the USSS chief acknowledging her mistake, Trending Politics co-owner Collin Rugg slams her for just being able to eventually get away with it. "Ironically, the snipers who were behind Trump during the rally were on a sloped roof, she is b******* and getting away with it," he said.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden still feels safe with the USSS and even lauded the agency. "What we did see was the Secret Service who responded risked their lives responding. They were ready to give their lives for the president. The question is should they have anticipated what happened. Should they have done what they needed to do to prevent this from happening? That's the question that's an open question."
Critics say that Biden was siding with the USSS leader because Cheatle is a good friend of his wife Jill Biden.
NEW: Secret Service director Kim Cheatle, good friend of Jill Biden and the new face of America's competency crisis, didn't post snipers on the roof where Trump was shot at because it was a sloped roof and she was afraid someone might slip and fall.
You can't make this stuff up. pic.twitter.com/XEkonoRh2p
— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) July 16, 2024
Secret Service warns against holding outdoor rallies after receiving intel of Iran's assassination plot on Trump
According to U.S. authorities, a report has been obtained indicating that there is a plot by Iran to liquidate Trump so the USSS has discouraged holding any more outdoor rallies, which pose greater risks than events to which the agency can better control access.
An official claimed that the Trump campaign had already been made aware of the threat even before Saturday's rally. "Secret Service learned of the increased threat from this threat stream," the official told CNN. "[National Security Council] NSC directly contacted USSS at a senior level to be sure they continued to track the latest reporting. USSS shared this information with the detail lead and the Trump campaign was made aware of an evolving threat. In response to the increased threat, the Secret Service surged resources and assets for the protection of former President Trump. All of this was in advance of Saturday."
"The Secret Service and other agencies are constantly receiving new potential threat information and taking action to adjust resources, as needed," agency spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said on Tuesday. "We cannot comment on any specific threat stream, other than to say that the Secret Service takes threats seriously and responds accordingly."
There was no indication that Crooks was connected to the said plot, the sources said. Also, the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations denied the allegation there was an Iranian plot to assassinate Trump.
Head over to Trump.news for the latest updates on the developing news of the assassination attempt on Trump and the election.
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