(DC Pundit) – Six Secret Service agents have been suspended following the failed assassination attempt on President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. While President Trump miraculously survived the attempt with a bullet grazing his ear, the real damage is now unfolding inside the agency tasked with protecting him.
Fox News host Jesse Watters revealed on Wednesday that the identities of the six agents remain undisclosed. According to CBS News, the agents were suspended without pay for up to six weeks and reassigned to restricted duties with diminished operational roles. That’s bureaucratic speak for “we won’t fire anyone, but we’ll look like we’re doing something.”
“We aren’t going to fire our way out of this,” said Matt Quinn, Secret Service Deputy Director, in an interview with CBS. “We’re going to focus on the root cause and fix the deficiencies that put us in that situation.” He added, “Secret Service is totally accountable for Butler. Butler was an operational failure and we are focused today on ensuring that it never happens again.”
An operational failure is putting it lightly. The fact is, a would-be assassin, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was able to scale a rooftop adjacent to Trump’s rally and fire eight rounds before being neutralized. A bullet struck President Trump in the ear, and tragically, a supporter was killed. Two others were injured, one critically. That’s not a lapse in security, that’s a collapse.
🚨BREAKING: Six Secret Service agents suspended over the Butler, PA assassination attempt on President Trump. pic.twitter.com/TJNZr3z6qJ
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 10, 2025
According to reports, Crooks flew a drone over the fairgrounds twice on the day of the rally, and no one did anything. Not exactly the kind of response you want from an agency whose entire mission is to prevent these exact scenarios.
EXCLUSIVE: The Secret Service suspended six personnel without pay as the agency faced intense scrutiny after the assassination attempt against President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, nearly a year ago.
Secret Service Deputy Director Matt Quinn tells CBS News' @NicoleSganga… pic.twitter.com/pjqH4V6pGg
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) July 9, 2025
The Washington Post reports that Secret Service agents never ordered local law enforcement to secure the rooftop Crooks used as his sniper’s perch. That oversight alone should trigger firings from the top down. Local police had even set aside radios specifically for the Secret Service. They never picked them up. That’s gross negligence.
Bodycam footage from a Butler Township officer captures the frustration on the ground. The officer had seen Crooks on the roof and tried to sound the alarm. “Before you motherf*ckers came up here, I popped my head up there like an idiot by myself, dude,” the officer says. “Then he turned around and I f*cking dropped, and I started fcking, I was calling out, ‘Bro, f*cking on top of the roof.’ F*cking, we’re not on the same frequency?”
Bodycam footage shows that, even after shots were fired, it took police FIVE MINUTES to reach the location of Trump assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks.
Ridiculous. pic.twitter.com/i23PUjE006
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) August 8, 2024
And that communication breakdown nearly cost President Trump his life.
President Trump, who returned to the campaign trail with his head bandaged and his fist raised, has yet to directly comment on the Secret Service failures. But given his history of expecting accountability and action, don’t be surprised if these suspensions are just the beginning. As they should be.
The American people deserve answers. The President deserves protection. And the Secret Service has a long way to go to rebuild the trust it shattered.
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