The 2024 campaign hit an inflection point.
And Donald Trump learned some bad news that will scare every Republican.
Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe gave his most extensive comments yet on the July 13 assassination attempt where a gunman shot Donald Trump in the head.
Rowe claimed the Secret Service was now in the “accountability” phase of the investigation.
“But here are some of the findings from this mission Assurance review with respect to command and control of the site in Butler, Pennsylvania, the Secret Service has the main responsibility of building the site plan. We cannot abdicate or defer our responsibilities to others,” Rowe stated.
Rowe mentioned one of the big failures was the Secret Service and Butler Police Department not operating on the same radio frequencies which allowed the gunman to make his way onto the building of the roof where he eventually fired at Trump.
“Advance team personnel have an obligation to ensure that each site meets the protective requirements and principles of Secret Service methodologies. The Secret Service did not give clear guidance or direction to our local law enforcement partners. There are communication deficiencies between law enforcement personnel at the site…” Rowe added.
The assassin had a direct line of shot at Trump from 140 yards away.
Rowe claimed the Secret Service agents knew there were security issues which could allow a direct shot on Trump, but that they didn’t take these concerns to their superior officers.
“Secret Service counter snipers neutralize the threat. With respect to diligence. Line of sight issues were acknowledged but not properly mitigated. Issues were encountered the day of the visit with respect to line of sight concerns, but they were not escalated to supervisors,” Rowe continued.
Rowe then dropped a bombshell about the “complacency” that set in with the agents on Trump’s detail and how they didn’t take their job as seriously as they should with regards to security protocol.
“While some members of the advance team were very diligent. There was complacency on the part of others that led to a breach of security protocols. With respect to accountability. The Mission Assurance review has identified deficiencies in the advance planning and its implementation by Secret Service personnel,” Rowe added.
The assassin flew a drone over the rally site.
Officers saw the gunman scout the distance between the building he fired from and the podium from where Trump spoke with a rangefinder.
The Secret Service also photographed the assassin on the roof of the building where he shot Trump from.
And the Secret Service let Trump take the podium despite the fact there was a report of a suspicious person.
But what Rowe said was almost as important as what he didn’t.
No government agency has provided any information about the shooter, his motivation, or his political ideology.
The lack of details on those fronts are highly disturbing.
2024 Battleground will keep you up to date on any new developments in this ongoing story, and the rest of the breaking news in politics, please bookmark our site, and consider making us your homepage and forward our content with your friends on social media and email.
