Six U.S. Secret Service agents received unpaid suspensions following the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024. Deputy Director Matt Quinn told CBS News that officials suspended them without pay or benefits for 10 to 42 days and reassigned all to restricted roles when they returned.
The agency came under sharp criticism after a 20-year-old gunman, Thomas Crooks, opened fire from a rooftop near the rally stage. Crooks wounded Trump and shot three others, killing one, during the rally. A Secret Service sniper killed Crooks at the scene.
What led to the disciplinary decisions?
Quinn said the agency followed a federally mandated process and opted not to terminate any of the six agents.
“We aren’t going to fire our way out of this,” he said, emphasizing that the agency is “laser-focused” on fixing the “root cause” of the failure. He acknowledged the Butler incident as an “operational failure” for which the Secret Service is “totally accountable.”
What changes has the Secret Service made?
In the wake of the incident, the agency has implemented a series of security upgrades. Upgrades included military-grade drones and mobile command posts to improve coordination with local law enforcement, capabilities missing during the attack.
Quinn said the agency designed the upgrades to enhance field communication and response speed in the event of an attack.
What did the congressional report find?
A bipartisan House task force released a 180-page report in December 2024 concluding the security breakdown in Butler was “preventable.”
The report cited longstanding leadership, training and planning issues that contributed to the failure, including assigning inexperienced agents to advanced planning roles and inadequate coordination with local authorities. It also noted that the problems were unrelated to that single event.
Lawmakers said systemic deficiencies created a vulnerable environment for such an attack. The incident — and a second foiled attempt in Florida — led to the resignation of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle and multiple federal investigations.
