A Secret Service agent accidentally shot himself in Washington, D.C., on Saturday night, which is not likely to increase the public’s confidence in the agency, particularly in the aftermath of the Butler, Pennsylvania, assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump in July.
Fox News reported the agent was on duty around 8 p.m. in the area of 32nd and Fessenden streets, about four miles northwest of the White House, when the “negligent discharge” took place.
“His injuries were not life threatening, and the officer was taken to a hospital for evaluation and treatment. USSS says no one else was injured in the incident,” according to Fox.
The incident comes on top of some embarrassing revelations of the security failures by the Secret Service at a Trump rally in Butler on July 13.
We’ve since learned that would-be assassin 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks had been walking around the grounds for hours ahead of his rooftop shooting attack.
We’ve learned he had a range finder on him when he attempted to go through a security checkpoint.
We’ve learned rally attendees near the rooftop on the neighboring AGR building he shot from were desperately trying to signal the Secret Service and law enforcement of Crooks’ presence.
Another video of the shooter climbing in the roof. The was a huge failure by the Secret Service. pic.twitter.com/DfsMkG0j8h
— @amuse (@amuse) July 15, 2024
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Former Navy SEAL sniper Rep. Eli Crane of Arizona traveled to Butler with other GOP members of Congress shortly after the Trump assassination attempt, and he identified many problems with security provided that day.
In particular, Crane noticed a nearby water tower the Secret Service did not utilize that would have given the agents a full view of the entire venue, including the rooftop Crooks used to carry out his attack.
I’m on the roof of the building in Butler, PA where shots were fired in an attempt to assassinate President Trump.
As a former Navy SEAL sniper, it was clear to me that many security measures were dropped making Pres. Trump extremely vulnerable.
Many questions still remain. pic.twitter.com/p2EhBTFg1M
— Rep. Eli Crane (@RepEliCrane) July 22, 2024
The circumstances surrounding the second assassination attempt against Trump earlier this month at Trump International Golf Course near West Palm Beach, Florida are also troubling.
According to the New York Post, the alleged gunman Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was able to get dangerously close to shooting Trump thanks to a glaring — and known — issue at the course.
“News photographers — including those hired by The Post — have had no problem repeatedly securing spots around the perimeter of the course to snap pictures of Trump playing golf or driving around in a golf cart” for years, the Post said.
“They have even taken images — which require a clear line of sight to the 45th president — unnoticed through the bushes with telephoto lenses,” the news outlet noted.
The Secret Service is under new leadership after the former director was forced to resign in the aftermath of the Butler attempt, but clearly there’s more work to be done.
Accidentally discharging one’s weapon and shooting oneself in the process is a big deal and an indication that the storied agency has some more work to do to get back to the professionalism that American people expect.
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