6 Secret Service Agents Suspended Over Trump Assassination Attempt: Deputy Director

The July 13, 2024, attack was the first time a current or former president had been wounded in an assassination attempt since 1981.

U.S. Secret Service agents rush to protect former President Donald Trump after shots were fired during a campaign rally in Butler, Pa., on July 13, 2024. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

The U.S. Secret Service suspended six agents over the “operational failure” that led to an assassination attempt on then-presidential candidate Donald Trump during a reelection campaign rally nearly a year ago, Deputy Director Matt Quinn said in an interview with CBS News on Wednesday.

The shooting took place on July 13, 2024, at a campaign stop in Butler, Pennsylvania, where a would-be assassin opened fire from a nearby roof, grazing Trump’s right ear. Trump shouted “Fight! Fight! Fight!” to his supporters before Secret Service agents rushed him off the stage.

Firefighter Corey Comperatore was killed in the shooting, and two other spectators were critically wounded. The attacker was fatally shot by a Secret Service sniper.

“The Secret Service is totally accountable for Butler,” Quinn told CBS’s Nicole Sganga. “Butler was an operational failure, and we are focused today on ensuring that it never happens again.”

According to CBS, Quinn said the six agents were suspended without pay or benefits for periods ranging from 10 to 42 days and were reassigned to roles with fewer operational responsibilities upon their return. He said the disciplinary actions were in accordance with a federally mandated process.

Quinn did not specify when the suspensions took place or what specific tasks the agents were assigned to on the day of the shooting, according to CBS.

“We aren’t going to fire our way out of this,” Quinn said. “We’re going to focus on the root cause and fix the deficiencies that put us in that situation.”

He noted that several improvements have been implemented since then, including giving agents in the field military-grade drones and upgraded mobile command posts, which improve their radio communications with local law enforcement.

Quinn was appointed to his role in May, returning to the agency he retired from in 2021 after more than two decades of service.

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he is helped off the stage at a campaign event in Butler, Pa., on July 13, 2024. Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo

The Butler shooting, which marks the first time a current or former president has been wounded in an assassination attempt since Ronald Reagan in 1981, drew sharp criticism of the Secret Service from members of Congress. Less than two weeks after the incident, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle stepped down amid bipartisan calls for her resignation.

The Secret Service has faced intense scrutiny over the past year. A 90-page Senate report released last September concluded that the agency’s “planning, communications, intelligence sharing, and related security failures in advance of and during July 13 directly contributed” to the incident.

A separate 180-page report published in December by a House task force made up of seven Republicans and six Democrats said the July 13 attack was “preventable and should not have happened.”

It pointed to “preexisting issues in leadership and training” that resulted in multiple security lapses that day, including the failure to secure the rooftop from which the gunman opened fire.

“Secret Service personnel with little to no experience in advance planning roles were given significant responsibility, despite the July 13 event being held at a higher-risk outdoor venue with many line of sight issues, in addition to specific intelligence about a long-range threat,” that report read. “Further, some of the Secret Service agents in significant advance planning roles did not clearly understand the delineation of their responsibilities.”

In the aftermath of the Butler shooting, Trump was placed under enhanced security measures exceeding the typical level provided to presidential candidates.

Law enforcement officials work at the crime scene outside the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on September 16, 2024. Chandan Kahnna/AFP via Getty Images

In a separate incident last September, Trump was again rushed to safety by Secret Service agents after a second would-be attacker was allegedly found hiding in bushes with a rifle at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida.

The House investigation praised the response of the Secret Service to the second alleged assassination attempt, crediting it for demonstrating “how properly executed protective measures can foil an attempted assassination.”