The six officers were suspended without pay, amid suspicions involving not only widespread incompetence
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Six United States Secret Service agents assigned to protect Trump during his presidential campaign were suspended for failing in their duties during the assassination attempt on the president's life last year.
The suspension will be without pay and for a period of 10 to 42 days, reported the director of the United States Secret Service, Matt Quinn, to the portal CBS News.
The attack occurred on July 13, 2024, when the then-candidate was delivering a speech to his supporters in the city of Butler, located in the key state of Pennsylvania.
The perpetrator of the act turned out to be Matthew Thomas Crooks, a 20-year-old left-wing activist linked to local branches of the Democratic Party. The terrorist was photographed hours before the attack and had been identified by the police as a threat to security.
Crooks, fotografiado una hora antes
The investigation of the attack
For this reason, since the incident numerous investigations have scrutinized the work of the Secret Service. The most important one, initiated by the Senate in July of last year, doesn't even rule out the agency's complicity.
During the election year, it was Joe Biden's administration that assigned the agents responsible for protecting American political figures, with special attention to Trump as the most prominent and leading Republican.
"Among many other problems, it is worth mentioning the lack of clarity in roles and responsibilities, insufficient coordination with local and state law enforcement, the absence of effective communications, and the inoperability of unmanned aircraft," details a section of the 94-page report prepared by the Senate.
The most critical section of the report reveals that a high-ranking agent in charge of event security had received credible intelligence from the police about a threat directed at Trump but decided to disregard it and proceed with the event.
Crooks's shot miraculously struck Trump's ear and not other parts of his body, allowing for a full recovery. Although Trump miraculously emerged unscathed from the attack, one of his supporters who had attended the rally in Butler was tragically killed.
Firefighter Corey Temperatore died heroically defending his family from the left-wing terrorist's gunfire, while two other people were seriously injured.
The assassination attempt produced one of the most iconic photos in American history, showing a bloodied Trump surrounded by Secret Service members rallying his supporters.
