Almost six weeks have passed since a 20-year-old shooter opened fire with eight bullets from a rooftop close to where Trump was speaking, forcing at least five Secret Service members to go on leave.
As part of its investigation into the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, the Secret Service has placed at least five of its personnel on administrative leave. The investigation comes after the gunshot incident at the former president’s Pennsylvania campaign event on July 13. Four agents from the Pittsburgh Field Office—including the special agent in charge and one member of Trump’s personal protection detail—were placed on leave.
Secret Service places multiple agents on leave in Trump’s assassination attempt probe
Several Secret Service members have been placed on administrative leave, over six weeks after a 20-year-old shooter opened fire with eight bullets from a rooftop close to where Trump was speaking. The investigation into the leaves is still ongoing by the Secret Service’s internal affairs branch, even though it is unclear if they were a result of disciplinary action.
Agency spokesman Anthony Guglielmi declined to clarify whether or not the agents were put on leave. He did, however, disclose that the Secret Service is “examining the processes, procedures and factors that led to this operational failure” as part of its ongoing “mission assurance review,” according to CBS News.
Guglielmi continued, stating that the organization “holds our personnel to the highest professional standards, and the Office of Professional Responsibility will investigate any identified and substantiated policy violations for potential disciplinary action.”
Two weeks after Trump was the target of an attempted murder that resulted in an ear wound, Kimberly Cheatle, the director of the Secret Service, resigned. After presenting her initial testimony in front of Congress lawmakers, who grilled her mercilessly about the agency’s failure to stop the terrifying situation, Cheatle departed the organization.
Trump just avoided a catastrophic catastrophe from the incident last month when a bullet skimmed his ear. But last month, Corey Comperatore, a firefighter from Pennsylvania, was shot and died, and two other rallygoers suffered critical injuries.
