Lifecare
Feb 05, 2026

Trump Assassination Scandal Blown Wide Open - 6 Secret Service Agents Implicated

Six Secret Service agents were suspended without pay or benefits following an attempted assassination of President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania in July 2024.

Matt Quinn, the agency’s deputy director, told CBS News on Wednesday that they “weren’t going to fire [their] way out of this,” but did say they are “laser focused on fixing the root cause of the problem.”

Quinn told the outlet that the agents received penalties ranging from 10 to 42 days of unpaid leave and were assigned to restricted roles with reduced responsibilities upon their return. He added that the disciplinary measures followed a federally mandated process.

Advertisement

The agency faced intense criticism after the security breach that enabled gunman Thomas Crooks to open fire toward the stage at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024.

Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old firefighter, father, and husband attending the event, was killed. President Trump was grazed by a bullet, and two other men were wounded by the gunfire. Crooks was ultimately killed by a Secret Service sniper.

“Secret Service is totally accountable for Butler,” Quinn told CBS. “Butler was an operational failure and we are focused today on ensuring that it never happens again.” He also said the agency is focusing on the “root cause” of the operational failure and fixing “the deficiencies that put us in that situation.”

 

Since the Butler rally, Quinn stated that the Secret Service has deployed a new fleet of military-grade drones and mobile command posts to enhance radio communications with local law enforcement, Fox News reported.

The agency faced renewed criticism weeks later following a second assassination attempt on Trump in West Palm Beach, Florida. Although the attempt was thwarted, then-Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned, and the agency became the focus of multiple investigations and congressional hearings.

Advertisement

In December, a bipartisan House task force released a 180-page report declaring the Butler incident “preventable,” pointing to “preexisting” leadership and training deficiencies that “created an environment” conducive to security failures.

The report also noted that Secret Service did not coordinate well with local law enforcement.

Trump made some comments last week regarding the government’s investigation into one of the assassination attempts against him last year.

Other posts