Butler seethes with anger at Secret Servicepublished at 23:54 16 July
23:54 16 July
Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Butler
As my colleagues report from the RNC in Milwaukee, I’ve spent most of the day in Butler, Pennsylvania, speaking to
people who were at the Trump rally on Saturday.
The area around the rally site is still very much a crime scene,
with police officers protecting the area near the building
from where they believe Thomas Matthew Crooks shot at the former president.
Still, it’s a much calmer atmosphere than when I was last here in the hours after the rally, when the entire area was cordoned off by
heavily armed officers as helicopters flew overhead.
The overwhelming feeling among attendees I’ve spoken to is of
anger at the US Secret Service, which they believe made fatal mistakes in its
mission to protect the venue.
“They definitely dropped the ball,” says Jean Vincent, a
Butler resident who was at the rally with her sister.
“I’m upset someone could have killed us, and my
children,” she adds. “It’s changed America and it’s changed our
community.”
The director of the Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle, will face
the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability on 22 July.
The next day, she, along with the heads of the FBI and Department
of Homeland Security, have been invited to a separate Homeland Security Committee hearing.
Some in Butler, however, say that they will only be satisfied if
Cheatle leaves her post.
“All I want to hear from her is that she resigns,”
Kathleen O’Shea, a 66-year old from near Pittsburgh tells me tearfully.
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Publish date : 2024-07-16 21:02:11
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