The head of a prominent police union has accused the acting head of the U.S. Secret Service of shifting blame after a failed assassination attempt on former President Trump. Patrick Yoes, National President of the Fraternal Order of Police, expressed frustration at the answer given by Ronald Rowe, acting director of the Secret Service, during a congressional hearing examining the security failures that led to the incident.
The gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, shot Trump in the ear from the roof of a nearby building during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The Secret Service has faced criticism for security lapses that allowed Crooks to get close to the former president.
Yoes criticized Rowe’s remarks, likening them to a general blaming a tank driver for losing a battle. He called for the focus to be on finding out what went wrong before assigning blame to local law enforcement partners.
Rowe testified that the Secret Service was told by local law enforcement that the building would be covered, but questioned why the assailant was not seen and why there was not better coverage. Yoes emphasized the importance of clarifying which agency is responsible for security at events and which agency placed the buildings beyond the security perimeter.
The incident has raised questions about security protocols and coordination between agencies. Fox News Digital has reached out to the Secret Service for comment on the matter.
