The Report Raises New Accountability Questions

Two years after a gunman nearly killed President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, a damning Senate report calls the Secret Service’s failures “inexcusable” — and six agents have been suspended but not fired.

Story Highlights

On July 13, 2024, Thomas Matthew Crooks shot Trump at a Butler, PA rally, wounding him in the ear and killing a firefighter in the crowd.
The Secret Service missed 102 radio calls from local police warning about Crooks before he opened fire.
A Senate report calls the agency’s failures “inexcusable,” yet no agents have been fired — only six suspended without pay.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation closed its investigation in November 2025, but many questions about motive and security breakdowns remain unanswered.

A Shooter on the Roof — and No One Stopped Him

On July 13, 2024, Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, climbed onto the roof of a building near the Butler Farm Show rally. He carried an AR-15-style rifle. Secret Service snipers spotted him at 5:52 p.m. He opened fire at 6:12 p.m. — 20 minutes later. Trump was struck in the ear. Firefighter Corey Comperatore was killed. Two other rallygoers were critically wounded.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) identified Crooks as the shooter the very next day. The Bureau gained access to his phone and analyzed his devices. Its investigation officially concluded in November 2025. Crooks was killed at the scene by Secret Service agents, so no trial ever took place. His motive was never publicly confirmed.

Secret Service Missed Over 100 Warnings

The Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General released a report in July 2025 with stunning findings. The Secret Service missed 102 radio transmissions from local law enforcement about Crooks. Agents received only five phone calls and three text messages from local police. No shared communications room had been set up between the Secret Service and local officers. That breakdown let Crooks get into position and fire without being stopped.

Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, released a final report calling the agency’s conduct “inexcusable.” A separate bipartisan independent panel, commissioned after the shooting, also called for a full overhaul of the Secret Service. The acting Secret Service director at the time described the failure to protect Trump as an “abject failure.” Even with that admission, accountability has been slow and limited.

Six Suspended, No One Fired

Six Secret Service agents were suspended without pay following the attack. A top agency official defended the decision not to fire anyone. Critics called that response far too weak for a failure that nearly cost a president his life. A congressional task force held hearings and found the agency leaned too heavily on local law enforcement while failing to coordinate with them properly.

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The Secret Service released a one-year update in July 2025 saying it had put more than half of its planned reforms in place. The agency said it streamlined operations and improved how it shares threat information internally. Investigators and lawmakers noted that better internal sharing of threat data could have made a real difference on July 13, 2024. Whether those reforms will hold is something Congress will keep watching.

Two Years Later — Accountability Still Falls Short

Two years on, the core facts are clear. The Secret Service had warnings and did not act on them. A young man with a rifle climbed a rooftop within sight of the stage and fired on a former president. One American died. The shooter was quickly identified. The FBI wrapped up its probe. Yet no agent lost a job, and the full record of what happened remains only partially public. For many Americans, that gap between failure and consequence is hard to accept.

Reports show the weaknesses at Butler were not unique to that event. Systemic problems with how the Secret Service coordinates with local law enforcement had existed for years. A congressional report on presidential security noted the agency has struggled with these challenges for over a century. The Butler shooting forced those long-standing problems into the open. Whether the reforms now underway will fix them for good remains the central question.