On Tuesday, Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe addressed the Senate Homeland Security and Judiciary Committees regarding a significant security lapse that occurred during the attempted assassination of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on July 13. During his testimony, Rowe expressed profound regret and described the incident as a source of deep embarrassment for him personally and for the agency.
Rowe revealed that he had personally visited the site of the outdoor rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where the attack took place. His inspection included climbing onto the roof of a nearby building from which the shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Crooks, had fired. Crooks used an AR-15-style rifle to shoot at Trump, injuring him in the right ear, killing one rally attendee, and wounding two others.
In his testimony, Rowe described the security arrangements at the rally site as insufficient. He expressed his dismay at the lack of proper security measures for the roof, acknowledging that such an oversight was unacceptable. Rowe, a seasoned law enforcement officer with 25 years of experience with the Secret Service, stated, “What I saw made me ashamed,” emphasizing his inability to defend the lapses in security that allowed the shooter to access the building’s roof.
Rowe’s comments highlighted a critical failure in securing a high-profile event and underscored the need for more stringent security protocols to prevent such incidents in the future.
