The U.S. Secret Service has placed at least five agents on leave, including the head of the Pittsburgh field office, as part of an ongoing investigation into an assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump last month. Sources familiar with the situation confirmed that one agent assigned to Trump’s detail and three others from the Pittsburgh office are among those who have been placed on leave. It remains unclear if all these actions are disciplinary, as agents can be put on leave during investigations for various reasons, such as mental health relief.
The investigation is being conducted by the Secret Service’s internal affairs division to determine how a 20-year-old gunman was able to fire eight rounds from a rooftop near where Trump was speaking in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. One of the shots grazed Trump’s ear, narrowly missing the former president. The shooter, identified as a local man with no known connections to extremist groups, was killed by a Secret Service sniper positioned behind the stage where Trump was delivering his speech.
Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi declined to confirm the specifics of the agents placed on leave, citing personnel confidentiality. However, he did confirm that the service is undertaking a thorough “mission assurance review” to assess the procedures, processes, and factors that led to the apparent security lapse. “We hold our personnel to the highest professional standards,” Guglielmi said, emphasizing that any substantiated violations of policy will be subject to investigation by the Office of Professional Responsibility and may lead to disciplinary action.
In terms of potential disciplinary actions, the Secret Service has several levels of measures it can employ based on the nature and severity of the infractions. Agents placed on administrative leave for disciplinary reasons typically continue to receive their pay and report to the office but are often assigned to non-operational roles such as administrative tasks. More severe disciplinary measures can include suspension or suspension without pay, which may also lead to the revocation of an agent’s security clearance. However, in this case, such measures have not yet been implemented.
In addition to the internal Secret Service investigation, Congress has launched its own probe into the incident and the broader security lapses surrounding the rally. The House of Representatives has formed a task force specifically to investigate the assassination attempt, and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs has been briefed on the Secret Service’s response to the shooting. Lawmakers have requested extensive records from federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies involved in the security planning and execution for the rally.
Former President Trump has resumed his campaign activities and held his first outdoor rally since the assassination attempt this week, with enhanced security measures in place, including bulletproof glass surrounding the stage. The incident has heightened concerns about the safety of political figures and prompted a reevaluation of security protocols for public events involving high-profile individuals.
