Secret Service suspends 6 agents over Trump assassination attempt — but some argue the real story is who didn't get punished
Nearly a year after the assassination attempt against President Donald Trump at the infamous campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, six U.S. Secret Service agents have been suspended. However, some are saying that the real story is who in the Secret Service didn't face any consequences over the fatal fiasco.
Matt Quinn, the deputy director of the Secret Service, told CBS News that six agents had been suspended without pay. The suspensions range from 10 to 42 days as punishment for the egregious failures during the assassination attempt against Trump on July 13, 2024.
'We were all sitting ducks that day. Our blood is all over their hands. I am angry.'
The news outlet noted that the Secret Service employees would be placed on restricted duty or roles with less operational responsibility when they return to work.
"We are laser-focused on fixing the root cause of the problem," Quinn stated on Wednesday.
Quinn defended the decision not to terminate any of the agents by saying, "We aren't going to fire our way out of this. We're going to focus on the root cause and fix the deficiencies that put us in that situation."
"Secret Service is totally accountable for Butler," Quinn confessed. "Butler was an operational failure, and we are focused today on ensuring that it never happens again."
The Secret Service has faced significant criticism for allowing gunman Thomas Crooks to open fire on the stage of the rally from a rooftop a short distance away.
A Secret Service sniper killed Crooks, but not before he was able to fire multiple rounds toward the rally stage, where Trump was speaking.
One of the bullets grazed Trump's ear, which caused blood to stream down his face. Corey Comperatore — a 50-year-old firefighter, father, and devoted husband — was fatally shot while attending the Trump rally. Two other rallygoers were wounded during the deadly shooting.
Helen Comperatore, the widow of Corey Comperatore, told Fox News in an interview that aired on Thursday, "We were all sitting ducks that day. Our blood is all over their hands. I am angry. I lost the love of my life. They screwed up."
The widow continued by listing several security lapses by the Secret Service, "Why Butler? Why was that such a failure? Why weren't they paying attention? Why did they think that that roof didn't need to be covered? I want to sit down and talk to them. I have the right to. They need to listen to me."
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) said of the suspensions, "Given the shocking security failures that day, this is the absolute bare minimum."
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Susan Crabtree, a national political correspondent for RealClearPolitics, revealed the identities of the six agents who were suspended without pay. Crabtree also noted two Secret Service supervisors who played significant roles at the Butler rally and later received promotions.
Citing multiple sources in the Secret Service community, Crabtree reported that the agents who were suspended are:
- Myosoty Perez, an "inexperienced" site agent.
- Dana DuBrey, a mid-level agent and Perez’s local counterpart agent.
- Meredith Bank, the "lead advance agent charged with coordinating security" with local aw enforcement, according to RCP.
- Tim Burke, the Secret Service's special agent in charge of the Pittsburgh Field Office.
- Brian Pardini, second in charge of the Pittsburgh Field Office.
- John Marciniak, the agency's lead counter-sniper at the Butler rally.
RELATED: Reporter who attended Butler rally REVEALS what President Trump said BEFORE 'Fight, fight, fight!'
However, some are pointing out that the higher-ups responsible for the Butler rally’s security not only dodged consequences — they got promoted.
Crabtree wrote on the X social media platform that there is a "big contingent in the Secret Service that believes the Pittsburgh office is unfairly taking the fall" for the Trump rally debacle.
Crabtree reported that two key Secret Service supervisors who "signed off on the Butler security plan and two who were on the final walkthroughs before the J13 rally" were never disciplined, yet did receive "big promotions."
Crabtree noted, "One of those supervisors on the final walkthroughs, Nick Menster, was assigned this year as the No. 2 in charge of the Lara and Eric Trump protective detail."
Crabtree continued, "The other, Nick Olszewski, ironically, became the chief (special agent in charge) of the Inspection Division, which is responsible for ensuring the accountability and integrity of the agency’s personnel and operations."
Larry Berger, an attorney for several of the suspended Secret Service agents, hinted that legal action could be taken against the agency.
"We avoided more severe sanctions, and now we’re assessing the next steps," Berger told Crabtree.
Two weeks after the assassination attempt against President Trump, then-Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned following bipartisan pressure. Cheatle was replaced after Trump's inauguration by Sean Curran, who was on stage with Trump during the attempt on his life.
Blaze News reached out to the Secret Service for comment, and the agency did not confirm or deny the identities of the agents who were suspended.
On Thursday, the Secret Service announced new organizational reforms for the agency following the conclusion of investigations into the failures during the attempted assassination of President Trump.
The Secret Service noted that it has implemented 21 recommendations made by congressional oversight bodies and that 16 more are in the process of being enacted.
Curran said in a statement on Thursday, "Since President Trump appointed me as director of the United States Secret Service, I have kept my experience on July 13 top of mind, and the agency has taken many steps to ensure such an event can never be repeated in the future. Nothing is more important to the Secret Service than the safety and security of our protectees. As director, I am committed to ensuring our agency is fully equipped, resourced, and aligned to carry out our important mission each and every day."
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Trans-identifying Democrat accused of threatening to kill Trump
A Pennsylvania man who purports to be a woman has been arrested and held without bail after he allegedly threatened to kill former President Donald Trump last week.
On Friday, Paul Gavenonis, 74, approached a transportation office employee at Penn State University and attempted to purchase a commuter lot parking pass. During a conversation with the employee, Gavenonis mentioned a Trump rally scheduled to take place at PSU the following day.
'Frankly, I hope somebody would get him.'
As their conversation continued, Gavenonis then allegedly made violent threats against the former president. "I hate Donald Trump. I’d like to shoot that guy," he reportedly said while pretending to rack a gun with his hands, according to the New York Post.
"You can’t take a gun in or the students will see it," he allegedly added after discussing scaling a tall building.
Gavenonis' alleged comments worried the employee, who reported them to the authorities within minutes. Gavenonis was arrested just after 10:30 p.m. Friday, jail records showed.
When questioned by the U.S. Secret Service, Gavenonis allegedly admitted that he "probably" could kill Trump at a rally and that he had a rifle at home.
"Frankly, I hope somebody would get him," he also told federal and local law enforcement, according to the arrest affidavit.
Gavenonis was eventually charged with making terroristic threats and disorderly conduct, a court docket showed.
He was also denied bail in part because he was deemed "suicidal," the docket noted.
Both the court docket and jail records list Gavenonis as a white female. The Centre County Public Defender’s Office also claimed he uses she/her pronouns, the Post reported.
When Blaze News reached out to the Centre County jail, Lt. Mark Waite provided Gavenonis' booking photo but did not clarify whether he is being housed in a male or female facility.
The Kansas City Star reported that Gavenonis is a registered Democrat.
Three months ago, Trump came within millimeters of losing his life after Thomas Crooks fired multiple shots at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, about 140 miles west of the Penn State campus in State College. One bullet tore through Trump's ear, while another killed former fire chief Corey Comperatore. Two others were critically wounded.
Then last month, Ryan Routh allegedly set up a sniper's nest at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, with the intention of assassinating Trump. Fortunately, the suspect was spotted before he could fire a shot.
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Idaho man Warren Jones Crazybull accused of threatening to assassinate Trump 9 times: 'I'm coming for you Trump'
An Idaho man has been charged with threatening to assassinate former President Donald Trump on at least nine occasions, according to a criminal complaint.
On July 31 — two weeks after a failed assassination attempt on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania — 64-year-old Warren Jones Crazybull called the former president’s Mar-a-Lago resort home and threatened to kill him, according to a criminal complaint and affidavit that was reported by Forbes.
'I start driving to the home of this multi-person rapist PIG TRUMP to take him down single combat.'
“Find Trump … I am coming down to Bedminster tomorrow. I am going to down him personally and kill him,” Crazybull said on the phone call, according to the Department of Justice complaint.
Trump National Golf Club is located in Bedminster, New Jersey.
Crazybull, of Sandpoint, is accused of making at least nine phone calls to Trump's Florida home and threatening to assassinate him.
Crazybull also allegedly made “concerning” threats of violence toward Trump on Facebook using the alias “Tracy Jones,” according to court documents.
“I start driving to the home of this multi-person rapist PIG TRUMP to take him down single combat,” a Facebook post from July 31 allegedly read.
Another post reportedly read, “I’m coming for you Trump.”
Crazybull's social media posts also referenced Jeffrey Epstein, “John John Kennedy Jr.,” and a “shadow government,” according to the criminal complaint.
Secret Service agents tracked down the suspect in Montana by using T-Mobile phone data, the feds said.
When investigators interviewed Crazybull, an agent said in the affidavit that he appeared as if his thought processes were "racing" and "confused" and that he seemed "paranoid."
He allegedly told investigators that “he would not attempt to kill former President Trump” but also claimed he would "not let" Trump become president again.
Crazybull said he blamed Trump and former President John F. Kennedy for “broken treaties that resulted in the loss of his land,” according to the affidavit.
The suspect reportedly told investigators that he had previously been admitted for psychiatric care.
Crazybull was arrested Aug. 1 and indicted Aug. 20 in federal court in Idaho.
He pleaded not guilty to one count of making threats against a former president.
The maximum prison sentence for a count of making threats to a former president is five years.
A trial is scheduled for Oct. 28.
Crazybull's threats came shortly after Thomas Matthew Crooks shot Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, striking him in the ear and killing a bystander.
Earlier this month, Secret Service spotted a rifle poking out of the bushes at the edge of Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. Secret Service fired at the suspect. Ryan Wesley Routh was arrested shortly after he apparently fled the area.
Routh was charged with single counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
Blaze News investigative journalist Steve Baker told Jill Savage and Matthew Peterson of “Blaze News Tonight” that Routh has a lengthy rap sheet.
“Most curious, with all of these charges, 74 arrests, how much time did he spend incarcerated? None. Zero,” Baker said.
Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung again blamed rhetoric spread by Vice President Kamala Harris and other Democrats for the threats.
“There have been two heinous assassination attempts on President Trump, and their violent rhetoric are directly to blame,” Cheung told NBC News.
“If the Democrats and Kamala Harris do not come out and apologize for their hateful rhetoric and tone down their attacks that have stoked the flames of violence, they are explicitly advocating for and inciting more bloodshed against President Trump,” Cheung declared.
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Failed Trump shooter linked to feds? Ryan Routh's DARK HISTORY exposed
Thomas Crooks thankfully failed in his quest to assassinate Donald Trump, and now Ryan Routh is joining him in that failure — after a second attempt on the former president’s life.
The attempt came 14 days after Vice President Kamala Harris posted a photo of Trump on her social media that read “Donald Trump vows to be a dictator on day one,” with the caption “We won’t let him.”
“Do you think that this is not correlated? Do you think that the rhetoric from the left calling Trump Hitler, calling him an authoritarian, calling him a dictator, calling him evil, telling women that he’s trying to take over their bodies, telling LGBTQIA-identifying people that he’s trying to marginalize them and genocide them, that his policies will kill them?” Liz Wheeler of “The Liz Wheeler Show” comments.
Wheeler also notes that from what we know about Routh, he doesn’t seem to be “a babbling schizophrenic hearing voices telling him to kill Donald Trump.”
“He seems like an individual who fell for the rhetoric of the mainstream media calling Trump Hitler, feeling like he would be doing a service to humanity to take Trump out,” she explains.
Routh also reportedly had a Kamala Harris bumper stick on his truck.
“I hate to have to say this, but you are going to have to convince me that Ryan Routh is not a fed asset,” Wheeler says. “Even the Martin County Sheriff asked if this shooter was part of some conspiracy because there are so many red flags.”
One of those red flags was that he was a “lone gunman” but somehow had the knowledge of exactly where Trump would be and the time he would be there.
“How did a lone gunman know where president Trump was going to be on the fifth hole of his golf course at that specific time of day with an AK-47?” Wheeler asks. “He also has a really sketchy, weird foreign profile.”
Routh was caught with a weapon of mass destruction and promptly arrested, before being given probation.
“Imagine having a weapon of mass destruction and just getting probation,” Wheeler says, shocked.
Routh has also spent a good part of a year in Ukraine and has been using his social media to recruit fighters from all over the world to come and fight for the country.
“Are you telling me that the FBi didn’t know about this guy? The CIA didn’t know about this guy? The State Department didn’t know about this guy? If so, they’re completely useless,” Wheeler adds.
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