NewsNation will air a special, “The Plot to Kill Trump: One Year Later,” at 9p/8C on Sunday.
(NewsNation) — Two of the six Secret Service agents tasked with protecting then-candidate Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, last year are appealing their suspensions, a source with knowledge of the matter told NewsNation.
The Secret Service suspended six agents without pay following last year’s assassination attempt on Trump.
The suspensions have not begun, the source also said, adding they should start “shortly,” probably in August.
They were suspended following an investigation into the attempted assassination and specifically their actions at that time, the source within the Secret Service told NewsNation.
The six Secret Service agents disciplined will be suspended for various lengths between 10 days and six weeks, a Secret Service source confirms. Once they return to work, they are expected to be placed in restricted duty with less operational duty.
Among the impacted agents are the head and deputy head of the Pittsburgh Secret Service field office (called the special agent in charge and the assistant special agent in charge), the source said. Those agents do not wish to speak publicly about the matter, according to the source.
The Pittsburgh office was intimately involved in protection at the Butler rally where a gunman opened fire, wounding Trump and killing a spectator.
Also receiving suspensions are a member of Trump’s Secret Service protection detail at the time and a countersniper, the source also told NewsNation.
The suspensions were finalized at different times, between two weeks and a month ago, after discussions back and forth between the agents and the Secret Service about the duration of the disciplinary action.
Separately, attorney Larry Berger, who represents some of the agents, refused to comment on most matters regarding the suspensions since the process is ongoing.
“We managed to avoid the most severe sanction, and we are in the process of discussions of what the next steps are,” Berger told NewsNation.
The news comes just days shy of the one-year anniversary of the July 13, 2024, shooting, which occurred at a campaign rally held by then-candidate Trump during the presidential race.
Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was able to climb onto a roof at the property where the campaign rally was being held and fired off several shots before countersnipers killed him. Trump and two others were injured, and rally attendee Corey Comperatore, 50, was fatally wounded as he tried to shield his family.