The director of the US Secret Service said she had “reviewed and strengthened” security plans for the Republican national convention in Milwaukee, as the failed assassination attempt against Donald Trump in Pennsylvania on Saturday put Kimberly Cheatle’s agency under immense political pressure.
Amid demands for answers over how 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks was able to carry an AR-15-style rifle to a rooftop close to Mr Trump at the Butler Farm Show Grounds, and to fire multiple shots, the secretary of Homeland Security criticised “a failure” of security.
“A direct line of sight like that to the former president should not occur,” Alejandro Mayorkas told ABC News on Monday.
Mr Trump, the former president and presumptive Republican nominee, was shot in his right ear, saying later he “felt the bullet ripping through the skin”.
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One rally-goer was killed and two wounded. Crooks was killed by a Secret Service sniper. On Monday, authorities were still searching for a motive.
Mr Mayorkas told ABC: “We have to learn everything about the assailant who, of course, the Secret Service neutralised. We are going to really study the event independently and make recommendations to the Secret Service and to me so that we can assure the safety and security of our protectees, which is one of our most vital missions.”
Elsewhere, CNN reported that “one of two local counter-sniper teams” was supposed to cover the building from which Crooks fired. Pennsylvania state police said they were not responsible for the area. Butler county police did not immediately comment.
The Secret Service has highlighted the extent to which it relies on local-level law enforcement for support at campaign events.
It has also denied reports in right-wing media that it diverted resources from protecting Mr Trump to protecting the first lady, Jill Biden, or that it rebuffed requests for additional security resources from the former president.
Mr Mayorkas said: “We keep very close watch on a very dynamic threat environment. The president, the former president, are commonly consistently under threat. We take every single threat seriously. We make security adjustments as are warranted. We had enhanced security for the former president, beginning in June. We had not received any requests for additional security measures that were rebuffed. That is false.”
The director of the Secret Service said: “In addition to the additional security enhancements we provided former president Trump’s detail in June, we have also implemented changes to his security detail since Saturday to ensure his continued protection for the convention and the remainder of the campaign.”
Ms Cheatle said she was “confident in the security plan” for the Republican National Convention, which began in Wisconsin on Monday, adding it had been “reviewed and strengthened in the wake of Saturday’s shooting”. Security plans for major events “are designed to be flexible”, she added.
Ms Cheatle also offered her “deepest condolences to the family and friends of Corey Comperatore”, the 50-year-old former fire chief killed in the shooting on Saturday, “as well as those who were injured during this senseless act of violence”.
A former agent who also directed global security for Pepsi, Ms Cheatle was appointed by Joe Biden in 2022 as the 27th director of the Secret Service and the second woman to fill the role.
Right-wing calls for her resignation have included claims she was appointed under policies meant to increase diversity, which she has championed.
In her statement on Monday, Ms Cheatle said “the tremendous responsibility of protecting the current and former leaders of our democracy” was something she took “incredibly seriously”.
“I am committed to fulfilling that mission,” she said.
Ms Cheatle also said she was “co-ordinating with the protective detail for former president Trump and have briefed president Biden”.
On Sunday, Mr Biden said he had directed Ms Cheatle to review security for the Republican convention.
Regarding the attempted assassination, Ms Cheatle said the Secret Service was “working with all involved federal, state and local agencies to understand what happened, how it happened, and how we can prevent an incident like this from ever taking place again.
“We understand the importance of the independent review announced by president Biden yesterday and will participate fully. We will also work with the appropriate congressional committees on any oversight action.” – Guardian