Six U.S. Secret Service agents were suspended without pay or benefits following the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024. The disciplinary action comes after intense scrutiny of the security failures that allowed gunman Thomas Crooks to fire toward the stage, killing attendee Corey Comperatore, wounding two others, and grazing President Trump before the shooter was neutralized by a Secret Service sniper.
[read more]
Deputy Director Matt Quinn told CBS News that the agency chose accountability over mass firings, saying officials were “not going to fire our way out of this” but were instead focused on correcting systemic failures. The six agents received penalties ranging from 10 to 42 days of unpaid leave and were reassigned to restricted duties upon their return. Quinn emphasized that the punishments followed a federally mandated disciplinary process.
Quinn acknowledged that the Butler rally was an “operational failure” and said the Secret Service is now addressing the root causes that led to the breach. Since the incident, the agency has implemented new security measures, including deploying military-grade drones and mobile command posts to improve coordination and radio communications with local law enforcement.
The scrutiny intensified weeks later after a second assassination attempt on Trump in West Palm Beach, Florida. Although that threat was stopped, the fallout led to the resignation of then–Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle and triggered multiple congressional investigations. A bipartisan House task force later concluded the Butler attack was “preventable,” citing leadership shortcomings, training deficiencies, and poor coordination with local authorities.
President Trump has since said he is “very satisfied” with the FBI’s investigation into the Pennsylvania attack, signaling confidence after months of skepticism. FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino has stated there is no evidence of a broader conspiracy, while also announcing renewed investigations into several high-profile cases involving potential public corruption that were previously left unresolved.[/read]