There have already been so many tragic instances where our government’s security has failed us, but recently they have topped their own ineptitude. Recently, on July 13th of this year, a 20-year old Republican attempted to take former president Donald Trump’s life at a political rally. Then, not even two months later, another attempt on Trump was stopped before it could escalate. The worst part? In both instances, the government sat around and did nothing despite the suspicions and warnings they were given. Some say this may be the final straw.
To begin, it all started months before the rally, when law enforcement was alerted due to suspicious purchases of “hazardous” packages arriving to a 20-year-old man Matthew Thomas Crooks in Bethel Park Pennsylvania. Some of which included 50 rounds of ammunition for an AR-style rifle. The individual was also proved to have been googling former President Trump’s rally dates and times. As if these two facts put together weren’t enough for the government to already be monitoring Crooks, he even went on to scout out the place and use the rifle range only a day before the rally was supposed to take place. The problem is, law enforcement said there was “boosted” protection the day of the rally due to possible threats from Iran. However, if there actually was heightened security, like they claim, why did no one stop Crooks when he was spotted on the roof with a rifle only two minutes before the shooting?
Moreover, it is reported that bystanders attempted to yell at law enforcement to notify them of the shooter on the roof, but their pleas went unnoticed. Soon after, shots rang out and even clipped the top of Trump’s ear before he was covered by FBI agents. Another shot also hit rally-goers Corey Comperatore, David Dutch, and James Copenhaver to which Comperatore would later pass due to the fatality of the gunshot. As they rushed Trump out of the rally and off to Butler Memorial Hospital the FBI agents present looked seemingly confused and unproficient. These amateurish acts by our most trusted form of law enforcement shook our country to its core with disgust and sadness for those affected.
Then, barely two months later, on September 15th, a 58 year-old man by the name of Ryan Wesley Routh was spotted with a gun and food outside of a golf course in West Palm Beach where Trump was practicing golfing. The suspect reportedly camped out for over 12 hours waiting to attempt to take the former president’s life. This is so baffling to citizens right now because law enforcement had 12 whole hours to stop the man and failed to until the last minute. While there is no playbook on how to deal with an assassination attempt on a former president, anyone can see that allowing people to get away with it is not an option. Even the Democratic party’s stomach’s are churning by the events with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi remarking,”As one whose family has been the victim of political violence, I know firsthand that political violence of any kind has no place in our society. I thank God that former President Trump is safe.” Additionally, with the uprising anger at law enforcement, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle reflected on her agency’s recent failures even referring to it as the,”most significant failure in decades.”
Ultimately, it all boils down to our country’s ever deteriorating law enforcement; especially at federal level. The events that took place around Trump on July 13th and September 15th are unacceptable and have made so many people sick to their stomachs. As clear as it is to everyone that these events could have easily been prevented, our law enforcement continues to fail at stopping such political violence. Violence has no place in this country and it is the federal agent’s sole duty to prevent it, but yet they still cease to do so. Further, numerous communities across our country are fearing if our federal law enforcement doesn’t reconcile their incompetence soon, we may be in grave trouble
