During a political rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, former President Donald Trump became the target of an apparent assassination attempt that resulted in chaos and casualties. Amidst a crowd of supporters, gunshots rang out, causing panic and fear. The former President, who is set to receive the GOP nomination this week during the Republican National Convention, was quickly evacuated by the Secret Service after sustaining a visible wound to the side of his head that bled noticeably. The attack tragically resulted in the death of one rally attendee and the assailant. Trump later said a bullet grazed his right ear.
Following the horrific incident, Rep. James Comer (R-KY), Chair of the House Oversight Committee, responded by urging U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to testify before the committee. Scheduled for July 22, the hearing aims to scrutinize the security lapses that allowed the incident to occur and discuss measures to prevent such a breach in the future, reports said.
“The tremendous bravery of the individual United States Secret Service agents who protected President Trump, eliminated the gunman, and possibly averted more loss of life cannot be overstated,” Comer wrote in his letter to Cheatle. “The Committee on Oversight and Accountability has initiated an investigation into today’s assassination attempt on President Trump and requests your voluntary appearance at a full Committee hearing on July 22.”
“I have already contacted the Secret Service for a briefing and am also calling on Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to appear for a hearing. The Oversight Committee will send a formal invitation soon,” Comer said in a separate statement. “Political violence in all forms is unamerican and unacceptable. There are many questions and Americans demand answers.”
It’s unclear why President Biden chose Cheatle, who took over her position in 2022. Before her directorship, Cheatle was a Senior Director of Global Security at PepsiCo. according to the Secret Service. Most recently, she was the Assistant Director of the Office of Protective Operations, managing their budget.
Kevin Rojek, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, described the situation late Saturday evening. “We had what we’re calling an assassination attempt against our former President Donald Trump. It’s still an active crime scene.” Rojek said law enforcement is “working feverishly to attempt to identify the individual who did this and any motives behind why this was done.”
