Wyoming Republican Senator John Barrasso spoke to Fox News after a briefing for Senators by the FBI and the US Secret Service. Barrasso said that Crooks was identified by security teams as a “suspicious character” before carrying out the attack and that he “had a backpack and a rangefinder.” He added that security personnel should have followed suspicious individuals, but no such action was taken.
Barrasso called for the resignation of US Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, saying, “This is a complete failure on behalf of the Secret Service. We need replacements at the highest level.” Tennessee Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn, who received the same briefing, shared on her social media account, “I was horrified to learn that the Secret Service was aware of the threat against Trump. I have no confidence in Director Cheatle’s leadership and believe it is in “The best interest of our nation that she leaves her position.”
Attempted Assassination of Trump
Former US President Trump was attacked with a gun at a rally in Pennsylvania on July 13. One person was killed and two were injured in the attack. The FBI described the attack as an assassination attempt and announced that the attacker was 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks.
