Secret Service agents will face disciplinary action over their failures at Butler, Pennsylvania on 13 July, when a shooter was able to come within millimeters of killing former president Donald Trump.
At a news briefing on Friday, acting director of the Secret Service Ronald Rowe said that his agency’s investigation into the assassination attempt was now entering its “accountability phase.” He did not provide specifics about who would be punished or what sanctions they would receive.
“Line of sight issues were acknowledged but not properly mitigated,” Rowe said.
He noted that there were a number of communication failures between Secret Service agents at the rally and local law enforcement, and that these allowed Thomas Matthew Crooks, the shooter, to take position on a nearby roof and open fire before being killed.
Rowe said that in the future the Secret Service would not abdicate responsibility for building site plans to other agencies or law enforcement.
Trump is now receiving increased protection, Rowe said, adding, “We have finite resources and we are stretching those resources to their maximum right now.”
On Friday, the House unanimously passed a bill to increase Secret Service protection for presidential candidates. The bill will now go before the Senate.
The Secret Service has faced widespread criticism for its failures on 13 July. These criticisms have been amplified by the second attempt on Donald Trump’s life, at his West Palm Beach golf course, last weekend.
Ryan Routh was able to position himself at the golf course fence with an SKS rifle and a GoPro camera. He was within 500 yards of the former president when he was detected by Secret Service agents. After fleeing the scene, he was arrested.
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