(FreePressBeacon.com) – After a shocking security lapse that forced the agency’s previous director to resign, the acting head of the U.S. Secret Service made a stunning admission while announcing plans for major changes.
However, the agency is only doing so after the second assassination attempt on Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Secret Service acting director Ronald Rowe admitted the agency needs to revamp its strategies due to the ongoing high threat level.
This statement came after the arrest of 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh, who is accused of trying to kill the former president at Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Rowe stated, “Coming out of Butler, I have ordered a paradigm shift. The Secret Service’s protective methodologies work, and they are sound, and we saw that yesterday.”
“But the way we are positioned right now in this dynamic threat environment, it has given me guidance to say, you know what, we need to look at what our protective methodology is. We need to get out of a reactive model and get to a readiness model,” he added.
Following this incident, a Secret Service agent found a rifle hidden in some bushes, leading to Routh’s arrest on federal gun charges. Routh was already a convicted felon.
In August, a whistleblower accused Rowe of cutting back on the Counter Surveillance Division, which is crucial for scouting threats at venues.
Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri highlighted these cutbacks in a letter to Rowe.
The senator also asserted that Rowe had retaliated against agents who voiced security concerns before the Trump rally on July 13.
A recent survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research revealed that only about 30% of Americans have a high level of trust in the Secret Service’s ability to protect presidential candidates from violence in the lead-up to the elections this November.
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