Donald Trump assassination attempt: Donald Trump narrowly escaped an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday. He miraculously escaped with only a broken right ear.
 "Trump assassination plot: What is the US Secret Service and why they're watching")
Republican presidential candidate and former president Donald Trump is helped off the stage by US Secret Service agents during a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania, Saturday, July 13, 2024. (Photo: PTI) Nisha Anand New Delhi Updates on Donald Trump assassination attempt: The assassination attempt on Donald Trump, carried out by 20-year-old Republican supporter Thomas Matthew Crooks on Saturday, has cast a shadow over the credibility of the US Secret Service, the agency tasked with providing security for American politicians.
The bullet fired by Crooks from an AR-15 rifle penetrated Trump’s upper right ear, causing severe bleeding, before the former president was escorted from the venue by US Secret Service agents.
The attack has prompted a public backlash from US intelligence agencies over their failure to thwart the threat, and has spawned a host of conspiracy theories alleging “deliberate” security failures and insider involvement as Trump supporters demand explanations from officials.
Billionaire Trump ally Elon Musk even called for the agency’s director, Kimberly Cheatle, to resign. US President Joe Biden condemned the actions and announced an independent investigation into how the attack was carried out.
What is the United States Secret Service Agency?
The Secret Service was established in 1865 as a division of the U.S. Treasury Department and is now under the Department of Homeland Security. Today, the Secret Service employs around 8,000 people and is tasked with providing security as a financial infrastructure for America’s politicians.
The Secret Service provides security for the President of the United States and his family, as well as the Vice President and his family, former Presidents and First Ladies (and their spouses), and presidential and vice presidential candidates.
Additionally, the federal agency is also responsible for security for several dignitaries, visiting foreign dignitaries, and designated National Special Security Events (NSSEs).
According to the 2022-23 fiscal year report, the U.S. Secret Service prevented approximately $2.6 billion in losses from cyber financial crimes worldwide, and also seized more than $41.5 million in counterfeit currency.
When was the U.S. Secret Service tasked with providing security for a presidential candidate?
According to the agency’s website, the agency was commissioned to provide protection for presidential candidates in 1968 after the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy. A congressional resolution was passed to provide the agency with protection on June 5, 1968, the day after Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles.
Notably, the late senator’s son, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is currently running as an independent in the presidential race alongside President Trump and President Joe Biden.
Kennedy is also the nephew of former US President John F. Kennedy, who was also assassinated while in office in 1963.
