Secret Service Ignored Classified Threat Against Trump Ahead of Butler Rally

(LibertySociety.com) – Ten days before a would-be assassin fired on President Trump at his Butler, Pennsylvania rally, Secret Service bosses were sitting on classified threat intelligence, and didn’t bother to tell the agents guarding the former President. You can’t make this up.

At a Glance

• Secret Service leadership received a classified, credible threat against Trump 10 days before the Butler rally, but failed to share it with those actually protecting him.
• On July 13, 2024, an armed attacker got onto a nearby rooftop, wounded Trump, killed a rallygoer, injured two others, and was later neutralized.
• Six Secret Service agents were suspended, but only after a damning independent review and public outrage.
• The Secret Service director resigned, and Congress is demanding accountability and sweeping reforms.

Secret Service Sat on Classified Threat, Left Trump Exposed

The United States Secret Service, tasked with one job, protecting our leaders, had intelligence in hand warning of a credible threat against Donald Trump ten days before the Butler, Pennsylvania rally. Instead of putting this information in the hands of the agents on the ground, they kept it under wraps. Not one agent responsible for Trump’s actual safety was told of this classified threat. While the American public thought the Secret Service had learned from past disasters, this colossal breakdown makes you wonder if the agency is asleep at the switch or if institutional rot runs far deeper.

On July 13, 2024, the worst-case scenario played out. A 20-year-old gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, easily accessed an unguarded rooftop less than 200 yards from the rally stage. He opened fire, grazing Trump’s ear, killing firefighter Corey Comperatore, and injuring two more people before being killed by a Secret Service countersniper. Later, investigators found explosives at Crooks’s home and in his car, removing all doubt about the seriousness of the threat. Yet, the Secret Service’s own agents on the ground were kept in the dark by their superiors.

Leadership Failure Leads to Suspensions and Resignation

After the assassination attempt, the fallout was swift, and overdue. Six Secret Service agents, including supervisors and line-level personnel, received suspensions ranging from 10 to 42 days, with their roles reassigned to limit future responsibility. The agency’s director at the time, Kimberly Cheatle, resigned just days after the attack. Only then did agency brass admit what everyone else already knew: this was an “operational failure.” The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a 98-page report detailing these failures, specifically calling out the Secret Service for not sharing classified threat intelligence unless it’s considered “an imminent threat to life.” Apparently, “credible” doesn’t cut it in their book.

The agency claims to have made “substantial progress” on reforms, including new technology, more drones, and improved communications. But the American people are left wondering how many times we have to hear about “reforms” after someone gets hurt or killed. Congress, led by Senator Chuck Grassley, has vowed to keep the heat on, using the GAO report as a roadmap for future oversight. Yet, the question remains: will this be another case of bureaucrats saving their own skins, or will we finally see real accountability?

Public Outrage, Congressional Oversight, and the Long Road to Trust

The Butler incident didn’t just wound President Trump and take an innocent life; it shattered public trust in an agency supposedly dedicated to elite protection. The Secret Service, already battered by decades of embarrassing lapses, now faces an uphill climb to restore even a shred of credibility. The GAO, alongside independent reviews, hammered home the message: the agency has become “bureaucratic, complacent, and static, even though risks have multiplied and technology has evolved.” That’s putting it mildly.

Congress is considering legislative action to force better information-sharing and operational reforms, and the Secret Service says it’s laser-focused on “fixing the root cause.” But for conservatives who watched the chaos unfold, the message is clear: government overreach, complacency, and a lack of accountability put our leaders and our freedoms at risk. The American people deserve transparency, not bureaucratic double-talk, and they demand public servants who actually serve the public, rather than just protecting their pensions

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