An internal investigation is underway regarding a Secret Service special agent who played a role in organizing security for the Butler, Pennsylvania rally where there was an attempted assassination on President Trump.
The agent is being looked into for possibly sharing confidential videos and photos from her protective assignments on social media.
RealClearPolitics correspondent Susan Crabtree reported that the female agent served as the official site agent for the July 13 event in Butler, Pennsylvania, where a rally attendee, Corey Comperatore, was fatally shot in front of his family.
An analysis of the agent’s Facebook account revealed a photo seemingly taken from Mar-a-Lago, captioned with a cheery message: “A sunset to be grateful for …” accompanied by heart and sunset emojis and hashtags like “#nofilter #southflorida #thankful #workmode.”
“Sources familiar with the videos said most appeared on the agent’s Instagram account, which is marked private,” Crabtree wrote on X.
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Sources within the Secret Service say the site agent was inexperienced for such a critical security role but noted that the position is rotated throughout the Trump detail, not routinely assigned based on merit or experience.
There is now concern within the agency that the site agent for the Butler rally will take the fall for the event’s egregious layers of security failures – that Rowe will fire her over her social media posts, but not for any security failures at the July 13 event.
In contrast, the lead agent had decades of experience within the Secret Service but did not have experience on a protective detail, the innermost ring of security for presidents, first ladies, former presidents, and their families, according to sources in the Secret Service community familiar with her background.
While the months of rancor and recriminations leading up to the assassination attempt against Trump undoubtedly distracted the Trump detail from its ultimate mission, the Butler rally served as a wake -up call and a reset, according to sources close to Curran.
“Sone agents have referred to it as their 9/11 moment where people are opting back onto the detail,” remarked a source in the Secret Service community. “Morale is high, people are motivated. These agents [protecting Trump] are stiff-jawed with steel in their spine.”
Crabtree states that this incident is not an isolated occurrence but rather reflects a larger pattern of dysfunction within the Secret Service detail assigned to Trump. Over the last year, internal conflicts have troubled the team, diverting agents from their main objective of safeguarding Trump amidst increasing threats.
“Rancor, recriminations, and serious formal misconduct complaints have plagued all levels of the Secret Service detail assigned to protect former President Donald Trump over the last year, distracting the team from its core mission of securing Trump from physical harm and preventing an assassination,” Crabtree wrote.
“Trump’s regular detail team, a force of 60 employees – special agents and support staff – has been beset by internal division, long workdays and weeks, and constant stress. Last year, the team lost one of its members to suicide,” she added.
RealClearPolitics received details regarding a company-wide conference call held on May 15, during which Sean Curran, the team leader, and his deputy, Matthew Piant, directly addressed the issues at hand.
They openly expressed their disappointment with what they referred to as “gossip, insinuations, and negativity” within the organization. The leaders strongly denounced a particularly egregious incident in which photos were taken of two support staff members sleeping on duty at Mar-a-Lago using cellphones—a breach of professionalism that was shared among team members for entertainment.
Piant characterized this prank as a breach of trust and emphasized that accountability should have been handled differently.
“Those encountering the sleeping individuals should have simply held them accountable by waking them up with a nudge,” he said per RCP. However, many rank-and-file agents voiced frustration that those who fell asleep were never disciplined.
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