Month: July 2025

The Secret Service suspended six agents without pay for their conduct during the assassination attempt on then-presidential candidate Donald Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, nearly a year ago. Confirmation of the suspensions come just days before the one-year anniversary of the shooting on July 13, 2024. The shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was shot and killed by Secret Service snipers on site.

The agency issued the suspensions, which ranged from 10 to 42 days and included both people in supervisory roles and line-level agents, following an investigation into the assassination attempt in which a gunman’s bullet grazed Trump’s ear. It is unclear when the agents were formally suspended, but it is said to have happened in recent months, with the agents given the right to appeal.

Multiple Secret Service officials were placed on leave for their actions before and after the assassination attempt, including the special agent in charge of the Pittsburgh field office (who was tasked with coordinating security with local law enforcement ahead of the rally). Almost immediately after the assassination attempt, lawmakers questioned the security failures that gave a 20-year-old gunman the opportunity to target and shoot Trump and kill firefighter Corey Comperatore, in what federal officials called an act of potential domestic terrorism.

The assassination attempt in Pennsylvania and a second, foiled attempt against Mr. Trump in West Palm Beach, Florida, a few weeks later, spurred the resignation of then-Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle 10 days after the attack after facing strong criticism for the agency’s actions.

The Department of Homeland Security did an independent review of the event: “The Secret Service does not perform at the elite levels needed to discharge its critical mission. The Secret Service has become bureaucratic, complacent, and static even though risks have multiplied and technology has evolved.”

A 180-page report released by a bipartisan House task force in December found that the security lapses that led to the first incident were “not isolated to the campaign event itself,” with lawmakers noting that “preexisting issues in leadership and training created an environment” in which the failures could occur, like giving significant responsibilities to Secret Service personnel with little to no experience in advanced planning roles. “Lawmakers also noted a lack of coordination and planning between the Secret Service and its law enforcement partners. The events of July 13, 2024, were tragic and preventable, and the litany of related security failures are unacceptable.”

Editorial credit: Adam McCullough / Shutterstock.com

A federal judge in New Hampshire agreed Thursday to issue a new nationwide block against President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship.

U.S. District Judge Joseph Laplante in Concord, New Hampshire barred the Trump administration from enforcing his executive order limiting birthright citizenship nationwide after the Supreme Court restricted the ability of judges to block his policies using nationwide injunctions.

Laplante made the ruling July 10 after immigrant rights advocates implored him to grant class action status to a lawsuit filed seeking class-action protection for all babies nationwide who could be impacted by the policy, as well as their families. Cody Wofsy, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), emphasized that the affected children would face lasting and serious harm if denied birthright citizenship—a claim the judge found credible.

The executive order, announced by Trump shortly after he took office in January, would limit automatic citizenship to children born in the U.S. only if at least one parent is either a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident. It would exclude children born to mothers in the country on temporary visas—including tourists, students, and those in the Visa Waiver Program—if the fathers do not hold U.S. citizenship or permanent residency. Although the Supreme Court has not yet ruled on the constitutionality of Trump’s birthright citizenship policy, it previously allowed the order to move forward starting July 27, unless blocked by further court action.

During Thursday’s hearing, Judge Laplante called the denial of birthright citizenship an “irreparable harm,” and described the right to citizenship as “the greatest privilege that exists in the world.” The judge approved the class-action request, but limited it to children who would be affected by the order. Parents, he ruled, would not be included in the certified class. In addition, he granted a preliminary injunction to temporarily stop the executive order from being enforced. However, he delayed the implementation of the injunction for seven days to allow the federal government time to appeal.

Wofsy said during a press conference following the ruling: “Today the court took a critical step by certifying a nationwide class of children affected by the President’s order and blocking its implementation. This decision ensures protection for every child in the U.S. from an unlawful, unconstitutional, and harsh executive action.”

Lawyers representing the Department of Justice argued against both the injunction and the class certification, claiming the relief requested was overly broad and said the timing of the legal challenge was premature. They also expressed concern about whether the legal standards for class-action certification had been satisfied.

Editorial credit: Phil Pasquini / Shutterstock.com