July 13th, 2024, a day that brought to light the alarming and dangerous state of affairs in the current political climate in The United States of America. The divide and hatred have been building for years, especially during the current term with President Joe Biden as President. Regardless of whichever political party or Presidential Candidate we align ourselves with though, neither of them should become a physical target, and there should not be an assassination attempt on them or any politician, yet that is exactly what happened when former President and the current Republican Nominee Donald J. Trump, addressed a crowd in Butler, Pennsylvania. In the minutes that followed the start of his speech, the world watched on in horror.
The assassination attempt that took place marks a pivotal moment on the American political landscape. At the time of writing this article, President Joe Biden announced that he is finally dropping out of the race but will finish his term as President, when in November a new one will take over. Personally, I'm not even sure he'll get to November as President let alone January, and the current Vice President, and Democratic Nominee Kamala Harris, is waiting in the wings to step in if required. Donald Trump meanwhile has seen an increase in support, and having just had an assassination attempt on him, that support and money coming into his campaign, has seemingly increased further. The mainstream media certainly have plenty of content to be discussing, but it is the attack on Donald Trump that has changed so much.
I'm not an expert in politics but it is something I've taken a great interest in over the past 20-years, however I'm in no position to write an article about the political landscape or the divide within it. What I am an expert in is Executive and Diplomatic Protection, and, in this capacity, I will say that there was a huge failure in protecting a former and potential future President of The United States, and this will form the bulk of the article. It's unfortunate to have to write about it, but I feel I need to dive into the failings and highlight why some should be held wholly accountable for Donald Trump almost losing his life. Those include Secret Service leadership, as well as members of Trump's protective detail. I write this article as a highly experienced operator and leader in protective operations, and not as a supporter of Donald Trump or the Republican Party, and this should be noted as there will at times be commentary that may reflect otherwise.
Having worked protective details over the years with the United States Secret Service, I know full well the serious nature of their jobs and how professional many of them are. When you're protecting high level and at-risk people, it is a position that is earned and not just given, yet this has been questioned and rightly so following the assassination attempt, I'll come back to this shortly. Former Presidents are given Secret Service protection once they leave office, but this is significantly reduced in personnel to what they had when in Office. The difference for Donald Trump however is that he is now the Republican Nominee as he aims to become President again, so his protection, although not at Presidential level, is especially significant, with long motorcades, Secret Service personnel, as well as additional Law Enforcement Support whenever he moves around.
As we've seen during the campaign trail with Trump attending rallies around the country, his protection team is prominent and so it should be for any Presidential Nominee, and this is one of the reasons why an assassination attempt that came so very close to killing him, half an inch to be precise, was a shock to so many and should never have happened.
On July 13th in Butler, Pennsylvania, thousands of Republican and Trump supporters attended a rally at Butler Farm Show Grounds. As men and women in dark suites and the obligatory sunglasses took up position, the crowd became excited knowing that their leader was about to appear and whip them all into a frenzy.
On July 13th in Butler, Pennsylvania, thousands of Republican and Trump supporters attended a rally at Butler Farm Show Grounds. As men and women in dark suites and the obligatory sunglasses took up position, the crowd became excited knowing that their leader was about to appear and whip them all into a frenzy.
Most seasoned Executive / Diplomatic Protection Agents watching a protective operation will often be more interested in how the Principal is being protected, and I was no different as Donald Trump entered the stage and walked towards the podium. What Trump may or may not have known before starting his speech though, is that one-hour earlier, at 5:00pm, a suspicious young man was seen pacing around the edges of the rally area. At 5:20pm, local law enforcement took notice of the man and seen that he had a backpack and a range finder. They radioed their concerns and took a photo which was circulated by officers, but then he vanished. It was twenty-minutes later when he was seen again, at approximately 5:40pm, and, despite members of the public at the rally pointing him out, it seems that no action was taken.
The failure began long before Donald Trump entered the stage, and likely even before his motorcade arrived onsite. Quite why Law Enforcement didn't apprehend an individual who was noticeably carrying a backpack and a range finder, is truly alarming. Whether you're Secret Service, a seasoned Police Officer, or have just graduated from the Academy, your instinct will tell you that this individual is suspicious, and that should have been addressed immediately as well as it being communicated to everyone working Law Enforcement.
Why this suspicious individual wasn't apprehended when he was noticed by Law Enforcement at 5:20pm, and yet again at 5:40pm, is anyone's guess. As Donald Trump entered the stage and started speaking at 6:02pm, the individual was still roaming around near the buildings a short distance away from the rally, and, at 6:09pm, and realizing the seriousness of it, members of the public began yelling to officers and pointing to the roof that an armed man had climbed up and was now crawling along it. This was approximately three-minutes before the first shot was fired by the individual towards the podium where Donald Trump was stood, but it was over one-hour since the suspicious individual was first spotted.
We all seen how this played out once the shooter fired his shots, and this, as well as the extraction following is what I really want to focus on because for me it was completely shambolic. There are of course many opinions of what should have been done prior and I've just touched on this, but as an experienced protective services provider, what I seen following the shots being fired was alarming and could have put Donald Trump in an even more dangerous position, especially if there were more shooters.
What I know for sure is that if this was the current President of the United States about to go on stage, and with a suspicious individual roaming around with a backpack and a range finder, then The President would have been held in a secure location or even in the vehicle. There is no way he'd have been allowed out until the potential threat is mitigated, so why was former and potential future President, Donald Trump allowed to walk on stage when concerns were already raised about the man on the roof?
"Hawkeye is Down".
As a protective agent, I can assure you that upon hearing this, it soon becomes your worst nightmare. In this case, "Hawkeye" was the Secret Service code name given to Donald Trump as the Republican Nominee. For those working on or leading Executive and Diplomatic Protection details, your job is to protect the Principal at all costs, and there is simply no room for error. In the case of the assassination attempt in Butler, there were clearly plenty of errors before, during, and after the attack, and as we've seen in the media during the weeks since, many have offered varying opinions but also, we've seen just how many holes have appeared in the protective operation for Donald Trump.
As soon as the first one or two rounds were fired, Trump, upon realizing he'd been struck, dropped to the ground. This was training, instinct, and reaction, rather than being taken down by a round hitting him. By luck, and it really was pure luck having analyzed many videos of the incident, Trump turned his head slightly as the round that went on to strike him, was incoming. If he hadn't turned his head then I've no doubt he'd be now dead. You don't survive a direct hit to the head from a 5.56mm round from an AR 15 rifle when it's fired from only 174 yards away, yet Trump did survive by the grace of God and a hell of a lot of luck.
Most within Law Enforcement and the Military know exactly what the sound of a shot being fired is like, and from the moment Trump dropped to the ground, the reaction and extraction clock started ticking.
1-minute 58-seconds.....
That's how long it took for the Secret Service to extract Trump from the podium and into an armored vehicle.That's a hell of a long time to extract a VIP, and, not knowing if there are any additional shooters, Trump should have been off that stage within 10-15-seconds of being shot. The immediate reaction from his personal protection officers was good as the clambered onto the stage and covered him as he lay, but then confusion and delay kicked in ever so quickly. With the worlds media playing it out live across the globe, we were afforded the opportunity of seeing and hearing first-hand exactly what was going on. For seasoned protective agents watching on, it wouldn't take long for most to ask the same question - "what the hell are they doing?". Why? Because they let their Principal remain in a vulnerable and dangerous position.
As someone who has been involved in several incidents where shots have been fired, both in the military and in the private sector, I can assure you that it's nothing like the movies. Yes, most of us are highly trained to react to the threat, but we are also taught how to extract within seconds of a shot being fired at us. That cover may not be far away, it may just be a few feet, but cover is cover, and when shots are being fired, you use it. Before that though, you look for it, you pre-empt it, and this is why highly trained protective agents never switch off, because they are always anticipating the "what if", and if they aren't anticipating that, then they damn well should be.
Protective training instills a reaction to attack that is, or should be, Fast, Aggressive, Action, and no matter the threat or the profile of the Principal, protective agents have a duty to anticipate what could happen, and with that, they are able to determine any potential actions that need to be taken before they even occur. We are however human beings and not robots, and when chaos ensues, plans and even people can fall apart, but we must stick to the basics, and in this case, and once the initial response to cover Trump was initiated, the basics weren't adhered to. If they were then they'd have got him off that stage within seconds and into cover, and despite not being able to identify the location of where the gunman was, there was cover to use. The fact of the matter is this, the move from stage to vehicle was one of the most embarrassing things I’ve ever seen in the field of Diplomatic and Executive Protection, in fact I’ll go so far as to say that it’s the most embarrassing, especially given the high profile and position of the Principal.
The job of the protection officers is to protect the Principal and not locate the gunman, but there was so much confusion going on which is common in such a situation, so command and control are key and yet Trump was kept in the same place on the center of the stage. In our training, we have a need to incorporate an aggressive reaction when effective enemy fire is being directed our way. It's ingrained within us to be able to react like that in a real-world scenario. That aggressive reaction can come in varying forms, and although Trump's protection officers were initially fast and aggressive in covering him, they stalled and stayed in position. Unless the principal is physically incapacitated or is unable to be immediately extracted, then they are to be extracted as quickly and aggressively as possible from the impact zone. If he's unable or unwilling to cooperate, then he needs to be dragged or carried, it's as simple as that. This may sound harsh, but if he or she wants to stay alive then that's what it needs to be. You don't let them stop to find their shoes, you don't give them a few seconds for a for fist bump photo, you don't crouch down and pick up his "Make America Great Again" baseball cap, you get him off there as quickly as possible, no ifs, buts, or doubts.
Make no mistake, former President Donald Trump is only alive today due to the fact that he turned his head slightly and because of the poor shots of the gunman. Although the initial response from some of the protection team was fast and aggressive, it then became a complete farce as they allowed him to remain in the impact zone.
Weeks after the attack, I'm still baffled as to what benefit was gained from the protective agents taking so long holding in the immediate contact area, especially given that a gunman was firing rapidly at Donald Trump. The human body does not provide adequate cover from a 5.56 round, the Secret Service Agents will have known this, which tells me that as soon as it hit the fan and they had to react, they completed folded, and all of their training and experience went out of the window. With that said, I don't for one minute believe that all involved were either highly trained or experienced, and I could watch the video 100 times and point out those who should be nowhere near a high-level protective detail. Putting in such people when there are real threats out there, could see them contribute to the death of their Principal, though thankfully here this wasn't the case but without question there should be some agents removed form such a high profile detail.
We know what happened, we all seen it, and for some of us, we've had it on repeat to really understand what took place, but I'm going to tell you exactly what should have happened from the moment the first shot was fired.
It was clear that the Secret Service protection team had no protocols in place for dealing with an attack of this kind. It seems to me that no briefings or rehearsals for such an attack had taken place prior, perhaps due to lack of time, budget, manpower, or all, and we will likely never know because we've been led up the garden path by some of the so-called leaders such as the now fired Secret Service Director, Kimberly Cheatle. For those who know what they are looking for however, we see exactly what some if not most of the issues were, and some are mentioned above. When you don't have the time, you don't do the preparation, and you don't have the right number of people, or the right people for that matter, then the chances of something bad happening increase significantly, yet although this is known, the dice is still rolled by some decision-makers.
Once Trump was hit and went down, and as I already mentioned, the initial reaction from a small number of the protective agents was fast and aggressive, but then came the long pause of standing him up, looking for his shoe, and giving the fist pump. Trump should have been kept low, covered by his body people, and taken or dragged immediately into cover. I counted three-seconds from the first shot to the agents jumping onto the stage and covering Trump, that's good, and you can clearly hear one of the agents shouting, "down down down down". Remaining in position should only be done if it can offer you cover, but when you don't know where the shots are coming from, or if there is a secondary or more shooters, then you extract immediately and you should know exactly where you are extracting to.
There was too much chatter amongst the agents, and this was picked up by the many media outlets. There should have been a better system in place for one agent to take control, and this as well as the actions on, should have been determined before Trump walked on stage. When too many people are trying to take control, then there is no control, and that was clear in the immediate aftermath. One of the agents was heard shooting "on you, when you're ready, move", yet they didn't move, though an instruction like that is rather confusing, all they did was stand Trump up for an additional minute, again, allowing him to remain exposed. The same agent then says, "shooters down", but that's a hell of a dangerous message when you don't actually know if he is or again if there are other shooters. There were lots of "we're clear", "are we ready", and "we're good', but still no extraction being initiated, and this was a big failure.
When Trump said to the agents "wait wait wait, let me get my shoes", and then proceeds to throw his fist in the air, as I've already highlighted, he should have been dragged off the stage. Tough call yes, do you want to be that guy who does it? What's the mission? To keep the Principal alive, by any means necessary.....Would I have done it? Absolutely and without question, and I'd have accepted accountability for it too, when the time came for that. If that meant being removed from my position then so be it, but the Principal would be off that stage and not have remained exposed. Would it have been viewed as overkill in dragging him off? Possibly by arm-chair critics, but they aren't responsible for protecting a Presidential Nominee, perhaps it could even be viewed as overkill by the Principal themselves, but I'd deal with that later, and I'd for sure justify the action taken.
It was clear that once down, the protective agents are looking for the vehicle to back up and come in close, but the armored SUV was parked too far away to begin with. A lot of this is down to the location of the rally, and for me it shouldn't have been held where it was. Perhaps if all the surrounding buildings were secured then that's another thing altogether, and again this goes back to what should have been done before Trump had even walked on stage. The staging of the Principal's vehicle is so important at an event like this, but due to the layout and optics, it couldn't be close. Was the driver sat in the vehicle at the time of the speech, engine running and hands on the wheel? We've no idea, one would hope so at least.
Once Trump was eventually hurried to the vehicle, we got to witness exactly why remaining calm under pressure is so important, regardless of the world's media recording you. You're not thinking of that in such a moment however, you don't have time and have far greater things to be concerned about, such as what might come next, but even so, such a thing is going to make or break you. Yes, I'm specifically talking about the 'holster lady'. I know of and have worked with some good female protective agents, they are on point with their skills and drills and it is very much mission first, regardless of the setting or the threat. They look and act the part and are calm under pressure, yet this particular agent in Butler was an embarrassment.
I don't know her, I don't know about her training or her experience, but when everything hit's the fan, you can't have people like that in a protective operation for such a high-profile Principal, and one would hope this is addressed if it hasn't already been. I hate to bash on anyone like this, and being in a highly volatile situation like this is never easy, but clearly this agent was unprepared, though she wasn't the only one as there were multiple. This agents' actions, demeanor, and skills, or lack of, were just not at the level they should be and it was noticeable. She looked nervous, lost even, and yet we must again look at who is or was making the decisions from a personnel standpoint. I'm not attacking the Secret Service as a whole, I'm pointing the finger of blame on the decision-makers and even the Agents in Charge of protective details, some of which are perhaps selecting people based on DEI rather than looking at their ability, experience, and operational effectiveness, and we're seeing it more and more not just within Government.
Without question, there are a number of Secret Service personnel who should have been put on administrative leave within days following the attack and while an independent investigation took place. Their lack of planning and preparation as well as their poor actions, contributed to putting a former President of The United States in danger, and when you're at that level, possibly becoming President again, that is completely unacceptable.
Some other notable questions have to be asked, and we are still yet to hear any appropriate answers:
Why were the Secret Service relying so heavily on local authorities?
Why were the buildings not secured before the rally, especially given how close they were?
Who was the Agent in Charge for Trump and what restrictions was he or she under?
Why weren't the warnings about the gunman acted upon before Trump entered the stage?
Why wasn't Trump extracted from the stage quicker?
Where were the Counter Surveillance personnel assigned to Presidential Nominee security details?
What exactly qualified Kimberly Cheatle to become the Secret Service Director?
Why has there been so much finger pointing between the Secret Service and local Law Enforcement? The Secret Service are ultimately responsible for a Presidential Nominee's security, should the accountability not be held there?
Everything about this from start to finish, including the investigation, has been sluggish, why?
Who was responsible for the site survey before the rally took place, and why weren't key threat points staffed by Law Enforcement?
Why was the gunman in the sights of 2 Police snipers yet was allowed to get off 8 shots at the former President before being killed?
Make no mistake, former President Donald Trump was less than an inch away from losing his life, and for millions around the world, we were less than an inch away from seeing a live assassination take place. We've heard in the media that a lack of personnel may be due to low funding, and as lame as that is, most will accept it, but what we won’t and shouldn't accept is when we see billions in foreign aid being sent out left, right and center, to countries such as India, and then also watch as it’s richest person decides to drop $250m on his son's wedding, while sat on his throne in his $2 billion home, guarded by over 100 security people. I’ve been to 'Antilia', the name given to the residence of Mukesh Ambani, located in the middle of the slums of Mumbai, so I know full well what it’s about.
The fact of the matter is, we can't even protect ourselves or those who are regarded as high value people, especially ones who have a strong chance of becoming the next President of The United States. Of course, the conspiracies will continue over time as to whether it was an inside job or if the attack was driven by a foreign nation, we'll likely not know that either, and I shall keep my own opinion of it to myself. What we do know is that Donald Trump is a very lucky man and one who should not be alive today. Many of course would wish that, but that's not what we're about as a nation, we're better than that surely.
Regardless of how well liked or unliked someone is though, the Government has a duty of care to protect a Presidential Nominee to the best of its ability, and for Donald Trump in Butler, this was not the case. I do fear that there will be another attempt at anytime in the future, including if he becomes President, but if I were Trump I'd sail off into the sunset and live on an island away from the hassle and risk, but he's not going to do that, he wants to do what he keeps saying and "Make America Great Again", and I hope he's able to do that should he become '47', but I also hope that he is protected with the right amount of agents, well trained agents who are appointed based on their skills and experience rather than anything else.
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This article is the Copyright of Glen Burton. All Rights Reserved.
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Glen Burton served in the British Army for 10-years before moving into the field of Diplomatic and Executive Protection. For the past 23-years, he has been at the forefront of the Global Security industry as an operator, trainer, consultant and leader, and is regarded as a Subject Matter Expert in Protective Strategies. Glen has led protective operations in over 200-countries for UHNW families, Fortune 100 Leadership Teams, as well as members of International Royal Families. He specializes in developing and managing protective programs and provides strategic guidance and support across the globe to help protect high value individuals, families, and business leaders.
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