'Mission Failure': After Attack On Trump, Combat Veteran Explains The Lapses By US Secret Service

Amid severe criticism by Republican lawmakers who said they will launch swift investigations into the alleged assassination attempt on their presidential candidate Donald Trump, a combat veteran has posted a thread on social media saying there were major security lapses in the former US president’s protection detail.

Trump, who survived with an ear injury, was rushed off the stage by the US Secret Service. An agent killed the suspected shooter soon after multiple rounds were fired from an elevated spot nearby, possibly the roof of a building outside the security perimeter, at the Butler rally on Saturday (July 13). The violence, however, led to the death of a civilian while two others were critical.

‘An easy shot’

Identified as Blake Hall via a handle on X, the person claimed to be a sniper employment officer who has led several combat missions in the past. Calling it an “easy shot”, Hall said there were major security lapses due to which the shooter could “engage” Trump from at least 130 m.

“I was the Sniper Employment Officer for my battalion and led hundreds of combat missions. There were major security lapses in the security plan that allowed a shooter to engage (former) President Trump from ~130 meters – an easy shot,” he said on X, formerly Twitter.

While information about the incident is still sparse, early media reports said the shooter was outside the security perimeter of the rally venue. Trump supporters blasted the Secret Service, which has the primary responsibility for protecting him as a former president.

Tesla maker and ally Elon Musk called for the agency’s leadership to resign, posting various videos on eyewitness accounts and rallygoers seemingly trying to warn law enforcement about “a man on the roof with a rifle/gun”. “How was a sniper with a full rifle kit allowed to bear crawl onto the closest roof to a presidential nominee,” asked conservative activist Jack Posobiec on X.

Republican House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson said on social media that the House will have “Secret Service Director KIMBERLY CHEATLE and other appropriate officials from DHS (Department of Homeland Security) and the FBI appear for a hearing before our committees ASAP.”

‘Drones should have been monitoring’

Many social media users and Trump supporters have pointed out the absence of drones at the campaign rally, which they said could have kept a watch on buildings outside the security perimeter but still close to the venue. Hall also said drones should have been monitoring the scene, as the “far rooftop is an obvious firing position”. Such a position is ideal for snipers, who are trained to engage targets from concealed positions or at distances that can escape detection.

He said local police could also have covered buildings close to the security perimeter and shared a video of the eyewitness, whose account to the BBC is going viral. This person has claimed that he personally warned the police and the Secret Service about “suspicious” activity on a roof, where he spotted a man with a rifle. But, he said, he was ignored.

“How can the dude at a cookout spot the shooter before the detail?!? The far rooftop is an obvious firing position. Local police should have been deployed to secure it. Additionally, drones should have been monitoring,” Hall said in his thread on X.

The eyewitness told BBC: “We noticed a guy crawling up the roof, bear crawling up the roof of the building beside us, about 50 feet away from us. We’re standing there, pointing at the guy crawling up the roof. He had a rifle, we could clearly see he had a rifle… We’re pointing at him, the police are down there running around on the ground. They don’t know what’s going on, and we were constantly telling them, ‘Hey, man. There’s a guy on the roof with a rifle. We can see him from here, we can see him, he’s crawling’.”

Attendee Ben Maser was outside the rally perimeter, listening to Trump, when he noticed two officers seemingly looking for someone. Maser, a 41-year-old welder, started scanning the area too. “I saw the guy on the roof. I told the officer that he was up there. He went about looking for him,” he said.

‘Couldn’t engage fast enough’

Hall said while there was a sniper scanning rooftops for threats, the team only had long guns. He explained that assault rifles can engage suspicious targets much faster, especially within 300 m. In fact, there are videos of a sniper, who was part of Trump’s detail, who noticed the gunman on the rooftop but could not stop him before multiple shots were fired.

“There is a sniper team scanning the rooftop for threats. But, the team only has long guns. You generally want a security element co-located with assault rifles that can engage much faster – especially within 300 meters. They couldn’t engage fast enough,” Hall said, posting a video of a sniper who seemingly tried to engage the suspected shooter.

The Secret Service said in a statement that it had recently added “protective resources and capabilities” to Trump’s security detail, without providing further details.

‘Too slow to detect threat’

While praising the immediate kill response from the Secret Service as “good shooting”, Hall still called the whole plan a “mission failure”. He said the target was neutralised but not before Trump suffered an ear injury and a civilian was killed while two were critically injured. He added the security detail was “too slow to detect the threat”.

“They neutralized the target. But not before he wounded President Trump, killed an innocent civilian, and seriously wounded two more. Good shooting. But gross failures in the plan meant they were too slow to detect the threat. Mission failure,” he said on X, sharing a video of the suspected shooter on the rooftop after he was shot dead.

The attack is certain to lead to a review of Trump’s security, and going forward he will likely be provided with a level of protection that is more similar to that of a sitting president, said Joseph LaSorsa, a former Secret Service agent who served on the presidential detail.

“There will be an intensive review” of the incident and “there’s going to be a massive realignment”, he said. “This cannot happen,” he added.

A retired agent who worked in protective services, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the incident should spark an internal review, and ideally an external one too. “The gravity of the situation demands thorough scrutiny to prevent such failures in the future and to ensure accountability on all levels,” said the former agent.

(With agency inputs)