Headline Roundup • July 30th, 2024
Secret Service, FBI Leaders Testify About Trump Shooter and Security Failures
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Ronald Rowe, the new acting director of the Secret Service, told senators he was “ashamed” of the security failures surrounding the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump as he and FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate testified Tuesday.
The Details: Rowe said the Secret Service’s counter drone system was down for two hours before the rally due to a connectivity issue, and he wondered if earlier surveillance could have detected and deterred Thomas Matthew Crooks from shooting Trump. He added that the Secret Service did not know Crooks had a gun until he started shooting and noted a communication breakdown between his agency and local law enforcement.
For Context: Previous investigations found that the Secret Service and local police were monitoring Crooks as a suspicious person an hour before the shooting but lost sight of him. Abbate testified that the FBI has not identified any motives for the shooting, but found a social media account they believe belonged to Crooks. The account posted antisemitic and anti-immigrant comments “to espouse political violence,” Abbate said.
How the Media Covered It: Sources from the left highlighted the emotional tone of Rowe’s testimony and interactions with senators, and his response to calls for accountability. The New York Post (Lean Right bias) reported on calls from a Secret Service counter-sniper and Senate Republicans to fire Secret Service administrators. The Washington Times (Lean Right) and Townhall (Right) focused on how Crooks flew his own drone over the site two hours before the rally while the Secret Service counter drones were not working.
Featured Coverage of this Story
REUTERS
Secret Service acting director Ronald Rowe in a joint congressional hearing Tuesday admitted he was “ashamed” of security lapses that kept agents in the dark about the shooter and nearly led to the assassination of former President Donald Trump.
Rowe, who was elevated to the position last week following the former Director Kimberly Cheatle’s resignation, said the July 13 shooting at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania was “a failure on multiple levels” during testimony before the Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security committees.
REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
WASHINGTON, July 30 (Reuters) - The man who tried to assassinate Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump appears to have posted violent antisemitic and anti-immigration content online as a teenager, a senior FBI official told a U.S. Senate hearing on Tuesday.
FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate at the hearing revealed the existence of the social media account, which dated to 2019-2020 - when Thomas Crooks, who authorities have identified as the shooter, would have been 15 or 16 years old. It is some of the first evidence to become public about a potential...
The acting director of the Secret Service testified Tuesday that he was “ashamed” at the security gaps that led to the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump and pledged to discipline any agents who failed to do their jobs.
During a rare joint Senate committee hearing, acting Director Ronald Rowe Jr. said he could not understand or defend why the roof where the 20-year-old shooter fired from on July 13 was not better secured.
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