Number of rookie Secret Service agents rose as veteran members dwindled in years leading up to Trump shooting [View all]
Source: The Independent
Thursday 02 January 2025 03:05 GMT
In the years leading up to the attempted assassination of Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania this summer, the number of veteran Secret Service agents sharply declined, while more rookies filled the ranks, according to a Washington Post analysis.
Beginning in 2015, agents with less than five years of experience rose from about 15 percent to 40 percent of the elite security agency, while staff with 11 to 20 years of experience declined from more than 50 percent of the Secret Service to making up about 25 percent.
One of those junior agents was tasked with leading security planning around the Butler, Pennsylvania, rally in July when gunman Matthew Crooks nearly killed Donald Trump, grazing the then-candidate’s ear with a bullet. The agent joined the Secret Service just four years before the shooting, and had only been on the president’s protective detail since 2023.
The Secret Service’s management of security at the Pennsylvania rally, where Crooks was able to fire on Trump from a nearby rooftop with a clear view of the event stage, has come under heavy scrutiny. After the shooting, Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle resigned in late July.
Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/trump-secret-service-assassination-agent-b2672588.html
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