Officials Would Like the Secret Service to Explain Itself by Julianne McShane
July 14, 2024
Introduction:
(Mother Jones) In the aftermath of the attempted assassination of former President Trump, there is renewed focus on the role of the Secret Service in protecting candidates on the campaign trail—and many questions about its response to Saturday’s shooting.
While many politicians praised the Secret Service for quickly escorting Trump from the scene after he was shot, several others—along with security experts—have sounded the alarm about the fact that the shooter, whom the FBI has identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was able to reach the rooftop of a nearby building in the first place; from there, he shot at the president and into the crowd, killing one spectator and critically injuring two others. (On Sunday, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro identified the victim as Corey Comperatore, who the governor said was a firefighter and Trump fan who died after diving on top of his wife and daughters to protect them from the gunfire.)
In a letter sent to Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle on Sunday, Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) wrote that the attempted assassination “raises grave concerns regarding the security measures—or lack thereof—that were taken” to protect Trump, and called the incident “a security failure at the highest level, not seen since the attempted assassination of President Reagan.”
Evy Poumpouras, a former Secret Service agent, said on the Today show Sunday that the role of the Secret Service is like “the conductor of the orchestra: They create the blueprint and design for the security plan. They work with state police, they work with local police, and then they put in resources and assets.” She said that while she did not have details about how the Secret Service prepared for the event, “if there was no coverage [at the adjacent building] whatsoever, that’s going to be an issue.”
Meanwhile, on Fox News, Dan Bongino, conservative podcast host and a former Secret Service agent, was less cautious in his assessment: “This was an apocalyptic security failure and don’t ever forget—an uneventful failure is never a success,” he said. “And the fact that Donald Trump didn’t die yesterday is no reason for anybody to take some kind of victory lap.”
Southport stabbing latest: Two children killed and nine injured in knife attack as teenage boy arrested
2 minutes ago
Two children have been killed while six others remain in a critical condition after a “horrendous” stabbing at a Taylor Swift themed dance workshop in Southport.
Two adults also remain critically ill in hospital with knife injuries after “bravely” trying to protect the young victims.
A 17-year-old boy from Banks has been arrested in connection with the stabbings, which is not suspected to be terror-related. Merseyside Police said the motive is currently unclear, and the teenager remains in custody.
Armed police detained him and seized a knife after officers were called to reports of a stabbing at a property on Hart Street on Monday.
Members of the public have been urged to avoid the area around the street after the force was alerted to the incident at around 11.50am.
Keir Starmer says Southport rioters will feel ‘full force of the law’
Weds 31 Jul 2024 02.05 BST
Keir Starmer has said those who rioted in Southport on Tuesday night will “feel the full force of the law” after police vehicles were set alight and missiles hurled at officers.
It came after far-right protesters pelted police with glass bottles and bricks and attacked a mosque following a knife attack that killed three children.
The prime minister said they had “hijacked the vigil for the victims with violence and thuggery” and “insulted the community as it grieves”.
Merseyside police said 22 officers had been injured during the night of violence, with eight sustaining “serious injuries” including fractures, lacerations, a suspected broken nose and concussion.
Time_Traveller wrote: ↑Wed Jul 31, 2024 4:31 amKeir Starmer says Southport rioters will feel ‘full force of the law’
Weds 31 Jul 2024 02.05 BST
Keir Starmer has said those who rioted in Southport on Tuesday night will “feel the full force of the law” after police vehicles were set alight and missiles hurled at officers.
It came after far-right protesters pelted police with glass bottles and bricks and attacked a mosque following a knife attack that killed three children.
The prime minister said they had “hijacked the vigil for the victims with violence and thuggery” and “insulted the community as it grieves”.
Merseyside police said 22 officers had been injured during the night of violence, with eight sustaining “serious injuries” including fractures, lacerations, a suspected broken nose and concussion.
Former counter-terror chief accuses Farage of inciting Southport violence
Wed 31 Jul 2024 17.13 BST
A former counter-terrorism police chief has accused Nigel Farage of helping incite violence that broke out in Southport after the killing of three children in a knife attack this week.
Farage drew criticism from across the political spectrum for remarks he made in a video on Tuesday in which he questioned “whether the truth is being withheld from us” after the attack on Monday.
Neil Basu – a former senior Scotland Yard officer who was in charge of counter-terrorism from 2018 to 2021 – said there were “real world consequences” when public figures failed to “keep their mouth shut”.
“Nigel Farage is giving the EDL [English Defence League] succour, undermining the police, creating conspiracy theories, and giving a false basis for the attacks on the police,” he said, referring to the far-right, Islamophobic group whose supporters are believed to have been involved in the rioting in Southport.
“Has Nigel Farage condemned the violence, has he condemned the EDL? Fomenting discord in society is what these people seem to exist for,” Basu added.
At least 32 people were killed and several others injured after a suicide bomber and gunmen targeted a popular beachfront location in the Somali capital on Saturday, a police spokesman has said.
Abdifatah Adan Hassan said around 63 people are wounded, some of them critically.
Video footage showed a number of bodies and injured people in Mogadishu's Abdiaziz district.
Local media say the attack was carried out by al-Shabab militants who control large parts of southern and central Somalia.
The group is affiliated to al-Qaeda and has waged a brutal insurgency for nearly 20 years against the UN-backed government in Somalia.
Ban English Defence League under Terrorism Act, Humza Yousaf urges
31 July 2024
Humza Yousaf has called on the Home Secretary to ban the English Defence League (EDL) under the Terrorism Act.
The former first minister, who brought in anti-hate crime laws in Scotland during his time as justice secretary, has written to Yvette Cooper in the wake of riots in Southport, Merseyside.
Three children were killed in a knife attack at a dance school in the English town which left several others in a critical condition.
A 17-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder and remains in custody and the incident is not being treated as terror-related.
Later violence broke out on the streets, with around 50 police officers injured amidst riots in which a mosque was attacked after social media posts wrongly linked the knife attack to Islam.
Worst far-right violence should be treated as terrorism, ex-police chief says
Tuesday 6 August 2024 15:09, UK
The worst of the far-right violence seen across the UK this week should be treated as terrorism, a former senior police officer has said.
Neil Basu, Britain's former head of counter-terrorism, called rioters who targeted a Rotherham hotel housing asylum seekers over the weekend "bullies and cowards".
He said those who carried out the worst violence and targeted people for their race should be prosecuted under counter terrorism laws.
Courts minister Heidi Alexander said that was a decision for the Crown Prosecution Service, not the government.
She told Sky News there had been "absolutely disgusting and vile and totally unacceptable behaviour on our streets" and "racist attacks".
Taylor Swift concert terror plot stopped by Vienna cops who arrest 2 suspects
4 minutes ago
Austrian law enforcement officers have arrested two people suspected of planning a major attack on Taylor Swift’s upcoming Eras Tour concert in Vienna.
Federal and local officers worked to arrest the two men on Wednesday. Police said one of the men, 19, had pledged allegiance to ISIS. The 19-year-old was arrested in Ternitz, an hour south of the capital, while the other man was taken into custody in Vienna.
Both suspects had become radicalized on the internet and had specific plans to carry out an attack, officials said. The 19-year-old was arrested with chemicals found by an Austrian bomb squad, and investigators are now determining if they could have been used to make an explosive.
Swift has performances of her Eras Tour scheduled for Thursday, Friday and Saturday night at Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna. Paramore is set to appear as a special guest.
The concerts are set to move forward after police said “the concrete danger has been minimized,” according to NBC News. There will be heightened security at the venue, including bomb squads and K-9 dogs, officials said.
1 killed, 7 injured in Baltimore shooting, police say
Source: ABC News
One man was killed and seven others were injured in a shooting in Baltimore late Sunday night, police said.
Several firearms were found at the scene of the shooting on the 1300 block of Spring Street when police arrived after 8 p.m., Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley said at a press conference.
"There was a gathering over on Spring Street, and at some point, it looks like multiple people opened fire, and we end up with eight people shot and one deceased," Worley said, as reported by ABC News' Baltimore affiliate WMAR.
The man who was killed was 36 years old, police said. A woman and six men aged between 22 and 45 were injured, police said. Their conditions ranged from critical to stable, with all taken to local hospitals, police said.
