The United States Secret Service initially shared a social media post on Wednesday that mistakenly paid tribute to the 19 hijackers involved in the September 11, 2001, attacks before deleting it.
The original tweet, posted on X (formerly known as Twitter), commemorated all 2,996 individuals who lost their lives on that fateful day, encompassing both the innocent victims and the 19 al-Qaeda terrorists accountable for the attacks.
The message, posted by the Secret Service Wednesday morning, stated, “The flag hanging in our headquarters is a solemn reminder of 9/11 and our mission’s purpose. A testament to freedom and sacrifice, it honors all 2,996 lives lost, including our own Master Special Officer Craig T. Miller & Special Agent in Charge Charles L. Friend.”
The total number of deaths in the 9/11 attacks was 2,977 innocent people. Including the 19 hijackers in this figure brings the total to 2,996, a detail that sparked immediate criticism. This information is according to 911memorial.org.
Yikes. Secret Service includes the 19 hijackers in the 9/11 death tally. There were 2,977 victims, not 2,996 https://t.co/rLxymYGDSy pic.twitter.com/7MprACsNDb
— Chuck Ross (@ChuckRossDC) September 11, 2024
Shortly after 3 p.m. on Wednesday, the Secret Service removed the original post. At 3:30 p.m., a revised version was shared, accurately stating the number of victims as 2,977.
The revised post read: “This is a correction of an earlier version of this post. In the original post, we erroneously included the total number of deceased from the Sept 11 attacks, which included the hijackers. Our intent was to only honor the victims of that tragic day and we deeply apologize for the error.”
This is a correction of an earlier version of this post. In the original post, we erroneously included the total number of deceased from the Sept 11 attacks, which included the hijackers. Our intent was to only honor the victims of that tragic day and we deeply apologize for the…
— U.S. Secret Service (@SecretService) September 11, 2024
The initial post contained a video tribute in honor of Secret Service personnel who lost their lives in the attacks. It paid tribute to Master Special Officer Craig T. Miller and Special Agent in Charge Charles L. Friend, both of whom were killed in New York City on September 11, 2001.
Craig T. Miller was temporarily stationed in New York City, preparing for the upcoming United Nations General Assembly at the Secret Service Field Office in World Trade Center’s Tower 7. However, his exact location during the attack remains unclear, according to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. Charles L. Friend also tragically perished in the event.
The recent social media blunder by the Secret Service is just one of many high-profile incidents involving the agency.
In late July, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned just ten days after an incident where a man shot former President Donald Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Furthermore, the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a report later in July detailing several failures by the Secret Service during the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021.
In the middle of August, a Secret Service agent left her position to breastfeed her child while on duty guarding Trump. This happened approximately one month after a gunman nearly took the life of the former president.
According to reports from RealClearPolitics, Cheatle continued to receive Secret Service protection.
