Following the assassination attempt on Former US President Donald Trump, who was speaking at a open-air rally in Butler (Pennsylvania) on July 13th, when as much as 8 rounds were fired towards him, serious questions have been asked of the Secret Service.
Whilst conspiracy theorists will have a field day, the investigation into what happened will be of the utmost severity. After all, talk of secret service protection came into scrutiny much before the attempt on the Former President. Robert F Kennedy Jr, who’s father (Robert F Kennedy) and uncle (President John F Kennedy) were both slain by gunmen in the 1960s, has not been given a secret service detail, despite running as an independent, and producing considerable numbers of support.
Although Kennedy’s claim that all presidential candidates since his father’s assassination have received a detail has been disputed, it is fair to say that Kennedy has reasons to ask for an exemption. Therefore, with clear interest and noise surrounding the Secret Service, it is only right that we dive into how learning lessons from the past has saved lives, and how the Secret Service seeks to secure venues.
“The US Secret Service protocols are born out of blood”, claims Jonathan Wackrow, a former Secret Service agent on Former President Barack Obama’s detail. The following information is taken from an excellent youtube video by WIRED, where Wackrow delves into Secret Service protection. If you are interested, I encourage you to watch it. The Secret Service was established in 1906, following the assassination of President William McKinley in 1901. McKinley was reportedly reluctant about having security and enjoyed meeting people without being watched over. He was shot by anarchist Leon Czolgosz on the 6th of September 1901. Since then, Security tightened around the US President. Despite later, unsuccessful attempts on Presidents, such as an attempt on Franklin D Roosevelt in February 1933, the assassination of John F Kennedy was the first real failure of the Secret Service, who’s detail permitted him to ride in an open-top vehicle on a publicised route. Furthermore, Wackrow points out that there were no barriers between the route and the people lining the pavements.
Since then, the President of the US rides in an armoured vehicle, which as of today, is accurately named the Beast, and, with the help of local law enforcement, and the setup of barriers, there is a clear distance between a protectee and people who have come out to see them. In other words, publicity will never come over security again. Further, Wackrow reveals the importance of the attempt on Former President Gerald Ford in September 1975 by Sara Jane Moore. As Ford was leaving a hotel in San Francisco, Moore opened fire. Wackrow praises Ford’s detail, who covered the President behind the armour of the Presidential limousine. However, the investigation of what happened reveals the importance of the limousine door not being open, when the President was exiting. This turned out to be a fateful lesson. In 1981, in an attempt to impress then teenage actress Jodie Foster, John Hinckley Jr shot and wounded President Ronald Reagan. On that day, the door of the limousine was open allowing agents to quickly get President Reagan out of danger and to a hospital. The lesson from the Ford attempt paid dividends and averted a tragedy. Considering how the Secret Service reassesses its actions and learns from past mistakes, I am in no doubt that the attempt on Former President Donald Trump will lead the Secret Service to be better at their job.
Furthermore, considering the events on July 13th, I want to understand how the Secret Service secures venues. Despite former Secret Service agent, Evy Pompouras, stating that an Open-air Rally, which Donald Trump regularly holds, are when a Secret Service agent feels most “vulnerable”, the Secret Service has to adapt to scenarios. Wackrow states that the “methodology” of how agents protect the President at events and venues is by creating “concentric rings of protection” around where the President will be. The first ring is inside the building where the President may be giving a speech. Metal detectors are put into place and agents want to understand details about a building; how the lighting works, how the ventilation works, and how a detail will evacuate a protectee efficiently. Further rings stretch out to what surrounds the venue; roads, a body of water.etc. This is where local law enforcement comes in and units are stationed to react and alert in case of emergencies.
Therefore, considering the above, I’d like to analyse what happened on July 13th.
Source: Google, OpenStreeMap
The first concentric ring is around the stage, which has been secured by Trump’s secret service detail and armed officers. The stage is likely to have been subject to checks by sniffer dogs for potential explosives, and according to Evy Pompouras, the stage is likely to be made out of steel, so that, in the event of an attack , a protectee can be sheltered, which is what transpired when shots rang out. At 18:05 (local time) Donald Trump begins addressing the Rally. At 18:11 Trump stops mid-sentence startled by the first shot, the second shot is likely to have been the fateful one as Trump felt his ear before going to ground, followed by the “shift” of security agents, who are specifically assigned to protect the Former President on stage. Within seconds, the detail are informed that the shooter has been downed, most likely by the counter-sniper that has come under scrutiny.
Trump, swarmed by his detail, is then escorted, with some trouble, to the “spare” (spare limousine). Analysing this, the Secret Service did their job, covering Former President Trump with their own body as shots continued to ring out. Further, in defence of the counter sniper, in videos, it can be seen that just before shots fire out, the sniper raises his head, likely seeing gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks. As she analysed events, Pompouras points out that the clothing Crooks wore was grey, allowing him to be camouflaged with the building that he had climbed. It is most likely that Crooks clambered onto the building in the time period from 18:05 to 18:11.
According to reports, individuals saw the gunman minutes before the attack. Therefore, whilst the first concentric ring was in my view secure, with two counter-snipers in place to respond to the demands of being out in the open, the second concentric ring was clearly compromised, and the truth is that law enforcement should be accountable for not responding effectively enough to reports, not seconds, but minutes before shots were fired. Eyewitnesses state that officers went “looking” for the gunman, and yet, clearly, chose not to alert the Secret Service on stage, perhaps in order to prevent a false alarm. This is surely an ill judgement.
What the Secret Service should take from this, is how to better secure venues, perhaps with new protocols for communication between those securing separate concentric rings of protection. Further, Trump’s detail in particular will look to implement protocols to make sure that Trump’s personality does not get in the way of an evacuation again.
Considering the history of the Secret Service, no one should be in any doubt that lessons will be learned from this incident. It is also absolutely important to underline that, whatever your politics, the attempt on Donald Trump’s life was deplorable, and such an act, if in Crooks’ delusions, was designed for some greater good, than it is important to stress, we were an inch away from an even more uncertain world and from the political cauldron spilling over.
To conclude, I would like to pay tribute to Corey Comperatore, who lost his life as he shielded his family from the shooting; a true hero.
Image: Carlos Guerra (United States Secret Service)
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