Friday, 08 November 2024

Local Police Tasked With Securing Buildings Around Trump Rally, Secret Service Says

100 Percent Fed Up
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The Secret Service blamed local police for failing to secure the rooftop where the alleged assassin shot President Trump Saturday.

The agency said the rooftop was outside the perimeter it was tasked to protect at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Talk about deflection after a colossal FAILURE!

The buck stops with the Secret Service, and the agency has resorted to the blame game for its egregious negligence.

“Instead, securing and patrolling the factory grounds of AGR International Inc. — located about 130 yards from the stage where Trump was speaking Saturday — was the responsibility of local Pennsylvania police, Secret Service representative Anthony Gugliemi said, according the New York Times,” Chief Nerd wrote, citing the New York Post.

“The Secret Service was only tasked with covering the grounds where Trump’s rally took place, with local police being recruited to assist with those efforts and secure the area outside of the rally,” the post added.

More from the New York Post:

But neighbors living near Butler Farm Show Grounds told The Post they were never visited by any law enforcement agencies — local or federal — in the days before or during the rally.

“Nobody contacted me. Nobody. Nobody called me, nobody stopped here,” said Valerie Fennell, whose home backs up on the fair grounds and is just beyond a stand of trees from AGR.

“I kinda was thinking that as close as my house is, that I honestly thought this might be part of a command station at some point,” she said.

And it wasn’t just Fennell who wasn’t contacted by law enforcement — she said her entire neighborhood was bafflingly left alone despite their proximity to the rally grounds.

“I was talking to my neighbors yesterday, and none of them had gotten a call. Or anything,” she said, while her sister, Debra, agreed.

“I guess it’s kind of the same question that everybody has. I guess, as far as like, why that area wasn’t secure.”

The lapses also apparently continued into the rally.

The Washington Examiner reports:

The Secret Service said that relying on local law enforcement for support is a common practice when managing event security.

At least six officers from Butler County tactical units were included in the Secret Service’s counterassault team, which initially consisted of only two Secret Service members.

Additionally, the Secret Service’s two sniper teams were supported by two local sniper teams.

While Pennsylvania police confirmed officers assisted the Secret Service, stating it is routine when hosting high-profile government officials in town, they also emphasized that the federal agency ultimately oversees operations.

“The Secret Service always has the lead on securing something like this,” Lt. Col. George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police said.

“We work with them to provide whatever is requested by the Secret Service, but they’re the lead in that security,” he added.

Ultimately, the buck stops with the Secret Service.


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