16.07.2024, 23:15
Zitat: Secret Service in Crisis: Inflexible Protocols, Security Lapses in Spotlighthttps://www.realclearpolitics.com/articl...51265.html
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The site agent, who is in charge of putting all security measures for a particular event in place, was a relatively new agent from the Pittsburgh field office with limited experience, a Secret Service source told RCP.
“Trump has a permanent detail, however, it’s much smaller in the number of bodies than the president’s,” the source explained. “His detail has been worked so hard with all the travel that they’re working seven days a week with shift changes, so headquarters sends in temporary agents to supplement. Not a good scenario.”
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Moments after Saturday’s attempted assassination, when live images of Trump clutching a bloody ear and raising his fist in defiance appeared on cable news and social media, critics almost immediately began to question why Secret Service snipers didn’t fire sooner amid reports that onlookers were pointing to Crooks, who was positioned and crawling on a nearby roof, before he managed to fire seven shots at Trump and the crowd.
A source within the Secret Service community told RCP that the agency’s rules of engagement in this situation are for a counter sniper who suspects an armed threat to radio the lead agent in charge and wait for a green light or wait until the president is fired upon to return fire.
But others suggested that that policy may apply only to the White House, and that counter snipers are allowed to fire upon armed targets threatening the president. Ricketts also demanded to know whether anyone within the Secret Service raised concerns prior to the rally about the building used by the shooter.
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Florida Republican Rep. Mike Waltz, a former Green Beret, insisted Sunday that Trump’s advisors repeatedly requested more security for the former president. Secret Service spokesman Guglielmi has denied that claim, but Waltz stands by his assertion, citing “very reliable sources.”