Washington, D.C. — The U.S. Secret Service has suspended six agents without pay following an internal review of their conduct during the July 13, 2024, assassination attempt on President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. CBS news has unveiled a report regarding the matter.Deputy Director Matt Quinn told CBS News that the agents received penalties ranging from 10 to 42 days of unpaid leave.
Upon returning, they were reassigned to restricted duties with reduced operational responsibilities.“We are laser-focused on fixing the root cause of the problem,” Quinn said. “We’re not going to fire our way out of this — we’re going to correct the systemic deficiencies that allowed this to happen.”Quinn acknowledged the agency’s full accountability for the security lapse, calling the Butler incident “an operational failure.”
In response, the Secret Service has implemented new technologies, including military-grade drones and mobile command posts that enable direct communication between agents and local law enforcement—capabilities that were missing during last year’s attack.The assassination attempt left Trump injured when a bullet grazed his ear. One attendee, firefighter Corey Comperatore, was killed, and two others were wounded. The shooter, Thomas Crooks, was neutralized by a Secret Service sniper.The incident sparked a wave of investigations and congressional hearings, ultimately leading to the resignation of then-Director Kimberly Cheatle. She was succeeded by Sean Curran.
A 180-page bipartisan report released by the House in December revealed that the failures in Butler were not isolated, citing broader leadership and training issues within the agency.
The report criticized the assignment of key roles to underqualified agents and a lack of coordination with local law enforcement.“The events of July 13 were tragic and preventable,” the report concluded, “and the litany of related security failures are unacceptable.”
