GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Stunning images show former President Donald Trump, fist held high, American flag waving behind him. Trump is seen bleeding from his right ear, the result of an assassination attempt.
“We never want to have to respond. So we do everything we can to prevent an incident from happening,” Jason Russell, founder and president of Secure Environment Consultants and a former Secret Service agent, said.
FOX 17 spoke with Russell on Sunday. Secure Environment Consultants is based in West Michigan. Russell also is a former Secret Service agent who served under two presidents, Bush and Obama, from 2002–2008.
“Secret Service right now is doing ... there’s going to be a full investigation. The details on how it was going to happen certainly will be ... they will come out. Everything that the Secret Service does is detailed and documented, so where the perimeter was set up, what meetings they had with police, where agents were posted, where tactical elements like the counter snipers were posted, all that stuff isn’t random. It’s always very documented. Why it happened will certainly be documented,” Russell said.
FOX 17 asked when the public can expect to have more detailed information on the investigation.
“I think you’ll start to see some information come out as early as next week. Now, the way this works is the FBI has oversight of the investigation. The Secret Service essentially becomes a witness, right?” Russell said.
Russell provided granular details of what he saw.
“It looks to me like that building that the shooter was on is a sloped roof, right? And the slope of the roof from where the counter snipers were sitting was the downslope side. ... They were essentially on the same level as that roof. They might not have been able to see the downslope side of that roof where that shooter was at," Russell said.
Russell says the Secret Service, like any other governmental agency, has a budget and limited resources.
“Former presidents, and even presidential candidates, don’t get the same level of protection as a sitting president. Tactical elements, like counter assault, which were the two gentlemen that came with long rifles — you saw them come on the stage — they were in black. That’s not guaranteed to former presidents. Counter snipers, which were the people that actually took the fatal shot that took out the shooter, that’s not guaranteed. That’s actually not very common for former presidents to have that,” Russell said.
The violence, Russell believes, is sadly a sign of the times.
“Even for general citizens, I think — just understanding that there’s a lot of anger out there for whatever reason, politically or otherwise. I think unfortunately that situations like this aren’t likely to go away any time soon; we’re likely to see more violence of various different types between now and the election,” Russell said.
Russell says the Secret Service strives for perfection, because every decision affects America for generations to come.
“Understanding that you can’t have one mistake. Because having one mistake would change the course of history,” Russell said.
Russell also told FOX 17 that this time of year, during an election year, the Secret Service is stretched thin. Russell says it's understandable for people to have questions as to how the assassination attempt could have happened, but adds that it's appropriate to wait for answers as they become available.
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