Communication failures, Secret Service ‘complacency’ led to first Trump assassination attempt, agency finds

Communication breakdowns, technical issues and “complacency” among members of the Secret Service advance team left its agents unable to stop a gunman from opening fire on Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally in July, according to a report the agency released Friday.

Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe said in a press conference that an unspecified number of agency personnel will face repercussions for the lapses that left one person dead and the former president and two others injured, though he declined to detail the possible punishments.

Rowe also repeatedly pledged a “paradigm shift” that would make the agency more “agile” in protecting the nation’s top politicians. But he warned that the agency is “burning through a lot of assets and resources” as it extends the same level of protection to Trump as the sitting president and vice president and called for more.

“We are not capitalizing on a crisis,” Rowe said. “We have finite resources, and we are stretching those resources to their maximum right now.”

The shooting in Butler left Trump’s campaign rattled and led to weeks of recriminations against the agency for failing to protect the president. Former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned following the Butler security breach and a tough July hearing before the House Oversight Committee, where Republican and Democratic lawmakers skewered the agency’s handling of the incident.

The five-page summary Secret Service released Friday — the full report is expected to be finalized in coming weeks — is one of several probes into the Pennsylvania shooting. The Department of Homeland Security has ordered an outside review of the incident, and a congressional investigation is ongoing.

It comes as the elite protection force is under fresh scrutiny after a possible second assassination attempt against the former president at his Florida golf club earlier this month. Trump has praised Secret Service for its handling of that incident. But his initial gratitude after Butler has given way to criticism of the agency’s blunders.

Findings from the Secret Service’s probe into the Pennsylvania shooting make clear that the agency knew the rally site — the Butler Farm Show grounds, selected by Trump’s staff to better accommodate “the large number of desired attendees” — presented a security “challenge.”

It cites “deficiencies” in communication between law enforcement, including that some local police were unaware there were two communications centers on the grounds and that Secret Service were not receiving their radio transmissions, and that details were being relayed outside of the agency’s network.

“The failure of personnel to broadcast via radio the description of the assailant, or vital information received from local law enforcement regarding a suspicious individual on the roof of the AGR complex, to all federal personnel at the Butler site inhibited the collective awareness of all Secret Service personnel,” the report said.

And it lays out how multiple law enforcement entities questioned the effectiveness of having a local tactical team stationed on the second floor of the building from which the 20-year-old shooter, Thomas Crooks, took aim at Trump — one that had no contact with Secret Service before the rally — “yet there was no follow-up discussion about modifying their position.” There was also no discussion with Secret Service about positioning the team atop the roof, even though local snipers were “apparently not opposed to that location.”

Authorities shot and killed Crooks shortly after he opened fire. The motive behind the shooting remains a mystery.

The agency also cited “technical difficulties” with its drone system that, if it had functioned properly, may have detected Crooks as he flew his drone near the rally site earlier in the day.

Rowe, who assumed control of the agency after Cheatle stepped down, said in a press conference Friday that Trump is now receiving the same level of protection as President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Security has also been elevated to “high levels” for Ohio Sen. JD Vance, who is Trump’s running mate, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who is Harris’, Rowe said.

But he said the agency needs more personnel, technical assets and equipment to sustain it — though he declined on Friday to publicly put a dollar amount on it as Congress debates additional funding.

Rowe also said the agency is on track to hire more than 400 special agents by the close of the fiscal year — a hiring blitz he deemed crucial ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, which Secret Service will be responsible for securing.

“I do believe that we are going to meet this” manpower challenge, Rowe said. “We have no choice.”

Josh Gerstein contributed to this report. Material from The Associated Press was also used.