WASHINGTON: The US Secret Service failed to receive 102 radio transmissions from local law enforcement before the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024, according to a report released on Thursday by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General.
The report found that the agency was unaware of the radio communications because it had not established a joint communications centre with local law enforcement officials, who were actively sharing information about a suspicious individual later identified as Thomas Crooks.
According to the report, local officers transmitted numerous updates as they searched for the suspect before the shooting. However, the Secret Service received only five phone calls and three text messages related to Crooks.
“As a result, Secret Service members did not alert President Trump’s protective detail about concerns of a suspicious person,” the report stated.
The inspector general recommended improvements in several areas, including strengthening information-sharing protocols and addressing “line-of-sight vulnerabilities” during advance planning for protected events.
In response, the Secret Service said it agreed with the report’s recommendations.
“Many of these recommendations were already identified and have since been implemented as part of our reform efforts,” a spokesperson for the agency said.
