The assassination of former President Trump raises many questions about security measures

2024-07-15 20:04:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The assassination of former President Trump raises many questions about security

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The assassination of former President Donald Trump raised many questions about the agency responsible for the security of the presidential candidate, the Secret Service.

Authorities are investigating how a gunman managed to get close enough to shoot and injure former President Trump, a serious failure in one of the agency's primary missions.

The United States Secret Service said today that it will fully cooperate with the investigations announced by US President Joe Biden and members of Congress after its agents failed to prevent the assassination of former President Donald Trump during an election rally on Saturday in Pennsylvania.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the FBI, says it is investigating Saturday's incident as attempted murder. President Biden announced that he has ordered an independent investigation, while Republican lawmakers vowed swift investigations.

The attack on former President Trump raised many questions about the security of the Republican presidential candidate at election campaign rallies and the reasons for the failure of security measures at Saturday's rally in Pennsylvania.

"He has a very strong small defense unit at his disposal, which is with him all the time. But it doesn't necessarily get all the resources that are available. I think there are several aspects of this incident that need to be investigated," says security expert Boby McDonald.

As a former president and Republican presidential candidate, Mr. Trump is largely protected by the Secret Service. Local police and occasionally agents from other agencies within the Department of Homeland Security assist the Secret Service at each of Mr. Trump's campaign stops.

Experts say this is not an easy task, because many rallies have thousands of participants, take place in open spaces and last for hours. Law enforcement officials typically set up barriers and require everyone present to pass through a metal detector.

The 20-year-old who tried to kill the former president, Thomas Matthew Crooks, had caught the eye of some participants in the rally, who notified law enforcement about his strange actions. The officers then launched a wide search but failed to find him, before he climbed onto the building from where he fired several shots at the former president.

A law enforcement expert says that despite the restrictions, the alleged perpetrator appears to have come close to killing the former president.

"Law enforcement, under the direction of the Secret Service, should have been positioned on those roofs. Assign one, two to three officers to monitor the positions of that roof. But apparently this was not done. What if it was someone who was really trained to kill someone" - asks expert Andrew J. Scott.

Calls for a transparent investigation were bipartisan.

Tennessee Republican lawmaker Mark Green, who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee, sent a letter to the Homeland Security Secretary requesting more information about the Secret Service's protection for the former president.

"The seriousness of this security failure and this terrifying moment in our nation's history cannot be understated," he wrote.

New York Democratic lawmaker Ritchie Torres also called for an investigation into the failure of security measures at the rally.

"The federal government must constantly learn from security failures in order to avoid their repetition, especially failures that have consequences for the nation," said Mr. Torres.

Meanwhile, the director of the Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle, said that the agency is increasing security measures for the Republican candidate for president at the Republican National Convention that begins today in Milwaukee./ Voa