Northeast
Trump assassination attempt: Secret Service failures may warrant discipline, agency report says
The U.S. Secret Service on Friday published a summary of the agency’s independent investigation into the July 13 assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, which concluded that certain agents’ actions and behaviors may warrant disciplinary action.
The agency’s investigation, called a Mission Assurance Inquiry, “identified several instances of behaviors and acts by multiple employees that warrant review for corrective counseling and, potentially, disciplinary action,” the USSS synopsis says.
“All Secret Service employees are held to a high standard of conduct in the performance of their duties when providing protection to those that entrust us with their well-being and the safety of their families,” the document states.
In particular, the internal review, which will be shared with Congress, found communications deficiencies, an unclear understanding of duties among some personnel working for USSS, and certain planning failures leading up to and during Trump’s campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where gunman Thomas Crooks shot Trump, the bullet skimming the former president’s ear.
SECRET SERVICE KNEW AIRSPACE PROTECTION WOULD END WITH FORMER PRESIDENT ONSTAGE
Former President Donald Trump was shot during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024. (Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images)
Crooks, 20, killed rally attendee Corey Comperatore and critically wounded two other attendees, David Dutch and James Copenhaver, in his attempt to kill Trump.
The report acknowledged that some of the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) personnel tapped with assisting USSS in its security procedures that day “conveyed the belief that they were inadequately prepared due to insufficient instruction,” while others did feel prepared.
“July 13, 2024, was a failure for the Secret Service.”
USSS also found that the agency “did not have adequate command and control over the radio communications for the rally.”
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Certain agents failed to “adequately relay” critical information through the radio and “instead relayed critical pieces of information conveyed by law enforcement partners via telephone and text message to some, but not all, Secret Service personnel at the site.”
Additionally, certain agents failed to “command the appropriate dispatch of personnel” to the area of the American Glass Research (AGR) building, where Crooks positioned himself on the roof and fired eight rounds, “after learning about a suspicious individual with a range finder” approximately one hour before shots rang out.
SECRET SERVICE, FBI RESPOND TO TRUMP RALLY VIDEO SHOWING FIGURE ON ROOF MINUTES BEFORE GUNFIRE
Thomas Matthew Crooks crawling on a roof moments before he attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump. (DJ Laughery. Inset: Obtained by Fox News Digital)
Two state and local law enforcement agencies with prior experience working with USSS determined that Secret Service “planning for the Butler rally lacked detail, cohesion, and clear understanding of who was in charge, all of which contributed to the overall lack of coordination.”
The agency also noted in its report that the rally attracted a large crowd of about 15,000 attendees in 90-degree weather, contributing to a reported 251 requests for medical assistance that day at the rally.
Former President Donald Trump raises his fist in the air defiantly after an attempted assassination left him with a wounded ear in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
USSS also pointed to a “lack of coordination” with Trump campaign staff that “caused a higher-than-expected proportion of security personnel to be diverted into assisting with medical responses.”
The investigation summary concluded that the July 13 rally was a “failure for the Secret Service” that warranted “several operational, policy, and organizational changes, some because of the findings and recommendations of the Mission Assurance Inquiry, and others done proactively in the wake of the July 13 incident.”
SECRET SERVICE TURNED DOWN LOCAL DRONE ‘REPEATEDLY’ AHEAD OF TRUMP JULY 13 RALLY: WHISTLEBLOWER
Officers surround Thomas Crooks on the AGR roof after countersnipers killed him. (Butler Twp Police Dept.)
The changes include: providing the “highest level” of USSS protection to Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris that is comparable “to the level of the president”; increased staffing of agents assigned to Trump’s detail; expanded use of unmanned aerial systems and counter unmanned aerial systems; radio fixes, including deployed personnel assisting with the development of radio networks; agreements with federal partners to secure more law enforcement “personnel and assets”; expanded USSS tactical coverage; expanded use of ballistic countermeasures at Secret Service-protected campaign sites; expanded use of technical countermeasures to enhance Trump’s security; and “organizational changes to better align enabling technologies … to give the Secret Service a technical advantage over its adversaries.”
“The Secret Service will continue to make further changes and implement viable recommendations that it receives from various entities. The agency is devoted to the mission entrusted to us and will work vigilantly to restore the trust bestowed upon us by the people we protect, the Congress, and the American people,” the Mission Assurance Inquiry report concluded.
Congress and other oversight committees continue to investigate the July 13 assassination attempt.
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New Hampshire
State investigation highlights communication lapses over proposed ICE facility in Merrimack
New Jersey
Newark man arrested in fatal New Jersey Chick-Fil-A shooting
A Newark man has been arrested and charged with murder after police said he opened fire in a New Jersey Chick-fil-A, killing a man and leaving six other people hurt.
Jaheed Fields was busted nearly three weeks after the shooting in the Union Township fast food shop, county prosecutor William Daniel announced Friday.
Fields, 20, was charged with one count of first-degree murder and six counts of attempted murder, as well as unlawful possession of a handgun and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.
“The brazen nature of this incident, occurring in a crowded restaurant where people should feel safe, was an affront to our citizens and the security they deserve,” Daniel said.
“This arrest is a testament to the meticulous work and seamless coordination between all of the law enforcement agencies involved, and a reminder that Union County will never tolerate acts of lawlessness that threaten our residents.”
Officials did not reveal a motive for the shooting.
Fields allegedly fired several rounds inside the Chick-fil-A around 9 p.m. on April 11, with witnesses describing the scene as a “warzone.”
Malek Shepherd, 23, of New York City, was killed at the scene, police said.
Six other victims were taken to area hospitals and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Witnesses at the time said a group of masked men charged into the shop and fired multiple shots after forcing their way behind the counter.
It’s unclear if additional arrests were expected.
Rhode Island
50 kids who’ve survived cancer to walk the runway at annual RI gala
Next month, 50 kids from across New England will be dressed in their best as they walk the runway at this year’s Glimmer Gala.
It’s an evening for childhood cancer survivors to feel like celebrities.
“For them, not only do they get to feel like a normal kid doing a normal activity, but they get to feel larger than life,” said Alison Hornung, founder and CEO of the Glimmer of Hope Foundation. “I hear the kids go into their classrooms after and say, ‘I got to walk the runway show and I got to do a photo shoot.’”
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That photo shoot and shopping spree are something each child, like 6-year-old Bella Berg from Lexington, gets to take part in.
“For everything that they go through and that loss of identity, it really makes them feel like they’re beautiful and strong, inside and outside,” Hornung said.
The Glimmer of Hope Foundation started six years ago. It brings hope to families whose children are battling cancer. This year’s gala is expected to be their biggest yet, with at least 500 people expected to attend.
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The goal is to give the kids confidence and make them feel special.
“They get to be alongside kids that are going through the same thing as them, so they don’t feel different,” said Hornung. “They just feel seen and understood.”
The Glimmer Gala takes place Saturday June 13 at the Rhode Island Convention Center. Click here for more.
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