Going
up a small fight of steps, the entrance was on my right. To my left, a path of
grass maybe 20 feet wide opening up to rows and rows of trees. I knew where I
was going, but still asked which door I could use. Could is the key word here.
They said I could go in the right-hand door, the implication being they
wouldn’t stop me but wouldn’t vouch for what happened inside. I didn’t need to
push my luck, so I chose the left-hand set of doors. And by “they” I mean two Secret
Service officers, both in tactical fatigues, one with spotter’s binoculars, the
other prone on the ground, .50 caliber sniper rifle resting on a bed of
sandbags, facing those trees. And behind the right-hand door, the sitting Vice
President of the United States, his staff, and Secret Service detail.
It
wasn’t as if I shouldn’t have been there. I was working advance for the event, my
“S” pin was firmly visible on my lapel, my look completed with an earpiece
for my radio comms. I was used to crowds of large men with service pistols
around me, but that sniper rifle had only one purpose, and I had no interest in
finding out how the business end of its discharge felt. While taking place in
Kalamazoo, Michigan, it was a Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore moment.
Much
has been already written, and even more will come, about Saturday’s assassination
attempt on President Trump. The immediacy was shocking, the intimacy of the
photographs unprecedented, and the reaction came at warp speed. If circumstances
had been different, I might very well have been walking around that rally could
have been caught in the crossfire. What is important to keep in mind is to let
the facts of the investigations come through, watch any testimony, and read the
reports. Nobody has all the answers now; we still don’t seem to have a whisper
of motivation for the shooter’s actions. There’s also an uncomfortable truth: despite
the seeming glamor and wall of firepower, the Secret Service is still a
government operation.
If
you are lucky, the only government you have to face is filing your taxes. Yet
as everyone knows, this is a process with rules, regulations, and paperwork.
Presidential protection is no different. The highest levels of protection are
for the sitting President and Vice President; further down are nominated candidates,
declared candidates, and then somewhere in the mix are former Presidents and
other dignitaries. As the sitting President, the setup in Butler would have
been very different and far more encompassing to eliminate potential site lines
of attack. As a candidate, the level of coverage is not as far reaching—hence much
of the discussion about responsibility between local police and the Secret
Service around various perimeter levels. Exactly who was supposed to do what,
and what may have been missed will be the subject of multiple investigations
and reports.
Unlike
filing taxes, I found my dealings with the Secret Service professional,
thoughtful, and filled with hard-working men and women performing a tough job under
difficult circumstances. I was witness to (and mercifully not the target of) animated
discussions about, yes, outdoor venues and how to maximize security versus
visibility to the crowds. Experienced hands, however, always came to an
understanding and the events moved forward.
But
with a government operation comes political players, and none was more in the
spotlight than Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle. She met with President
Trump, which was an expedient move to reassure a protectee, as well as show
leadership. Less reassuring was her surprise walk around the floor of the Republican
National Convention, where her presence was met with the warmth given to vegans
protesting in a cattlemen’s convention. Maybe she was scoping out how it will
feel for the upcoming Congressional hearings.
As
I’ve said, I want to sit back and take in as much information before I will place
blame. This was right until published reports said that the Secret Service dissuaded
President Trump from attending the funeral of Corey Comperatore because they
couldn’t “secure the nearby forest.” Toto, I’ve seen the sniper’s nests outside
the forest—it has been secured before and can be again.
©
2024 Alexander W. Stephens, All Rights Reserved.
