(Patriot.Buzz) – In the aftermath of a shocking security lapse, several Secret Service employees are being put on administrative leave following a failed attempt to assassinate GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump at a campaign event last month
According to several sources, a Secret Service team member and other personnel from the Pittsburgh field office have been reassigned to work from home after the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
These changes come after what has been described as one of the most significant law-enforcement failures in American history, now under multiple investigations.
Secret Service acting chief Ron Rowe called the incident a “failure on multiple levels” during his Senate testimony two weeks after the event.
20-year-old gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, managed to get on top of a nearby rooftop and fired eight shots.
He injured Trump’s right ear and killed former fire chief Corey Comperatore. Two other rallygoers, Marine veteran David Dutch and retiree James Copenhaver, were also injured.
Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) revealed text messages showing that law enforcement had identified Crooks over 90 minutes before he began shooting from the rooftop of an American Glass Research building.
However, Rowe admitted that the Secret Service was unaware Crooks was armed until he began shooting.
Rowe cited a breakdown in communication with local law enforcement as a primary issue.
Moments before Crooks opened fire, a local officer approached him but retreated when Crooks aimed his rifle at him.
Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) has received reports from whistleblowers about lapses by the Secret Service at the rally.
One whistleblower revealed that agents were told not to request additional personnel for the event, as they would be denied.
The FBI leads the ongoing investigation into Crooks’s preparations for the attack. He had scoped out the rally site three times, including a visit on the morning of the rally.
Earlier on the day of the rally, Crooks also flew a drone around the site for about 11 minutes. He was killed by a Secret Service sniper just after his attack.
To date, the FBI has not determined Crooks’s motive yet. The agency has described him as a loner who had previously researched the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and frequented a local gun range.
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