On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General released its final report on Secret Service failures that preceded the July 13, 2024, assassination attempt against then-former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The report featured five key findings, the fifth of which included some strange details.
In short, the Secret Service site agent counterpart — usually a member of state or local law enforcement who coordinates event protection with the lead Secret Service agent, per NBC News — showed inappropriate deference to Trump’s staff on a question of major security-related significance.
Specifically, the report’s fifth key finding blamed the Secret Service for failing to block line of sight to President Trump.
Shortly after 6:00 p.m. on July 13, would-be assassin Thomas Crooks climbed the roof of an American Glass Research International building 155 yards away from Trump and fired eight shots, wounding Trump and killing rally attendee Corey Comperatore.
Prior to the event, the counterpart had identified that building as a threat.
“In Butler, the Secret Service site agent counterpart proposed blocking line of sight from the AGR complex to the stage where President Trump would be speaking,” the report read.
Hellbound and Down 