Senate Report Blames Secret Service for Trump Rally Shooting

The U.S. Senate released an investigative report on July 13, revealing that the shooting incident at a Trump campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last year was due to a series of avoidable security lapses. The report criticized the U.S. Secret Service for its lack of discipline, including the failure to dismiss relevant personnel after the attack.

On July 13, 2024, a 20-year-old gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, shot Trump in the ear during the rally, resulting in one fatality and two injuries among the attendees. The report, issued on the one-year anniversary of the shooting, accused the Secret Service of numerous oversights and communication failures in the planning and execution of the event.

The chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee stated, "This was not just a failure of judgment, but a complete breakdown of the security system at all levels—bureaucratic indifference, lack of clear procedures, and astonishing disregard for direct threats, all of which contributed to the tragedy."

Ten days after the shooting, the then-director of the Secret Service resigned under public pressure. Recently, the Secret Service announced that six on-duty agents had been suspended for periods ranging from 10 to 42 days.

However, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee believed that the number of personnel who should be punished far exceeded six, and that two of the punished individuals received lighter penalties than recommended. The committee also noted that no one was dismissed. The current director of the Secret Service responded by stating that the report had been received and that cooperation with the investigation would continue. The director added, "Since the incident, the Secret Service has conducted a comprehensive review of its operational mechanisms and implemented substantive reforms to address the exposed issues."