BUTLER, Pa. — A former U.S. Secret Service agent who lives in St. Louis County is weighing in on the apparent attempted assassination of former President Trump.
Brian Gant served during President Obama's administration and understood the urgent need for agents to act when there was no time to wait.
"I was glad to see that he was able to get up," Gant said.
He watched as special agents jumped into action when gunshots rang out at former President Trump's campaign rally Saturday.
"They did exactly what they were supposed to do in terms of creating a body shield, shielding the President behind the podium, covering him,” he said.
Serving as an agent for seven years, he understood the immediate need to evacuate the former President from the threat. "You’re in an outside venue, you’re in an open environment — you never want to be in any kind of environment where you are susceptible to any kind of attack," Gant explained.
"Once Trump was out of danger... the other law enforcement agencies in the area should've been directed to the problem, which in this case is the shooter,” he continued.
Hours after the incident, The Secret Service confirmed the shooter opened fire from outside of the heavily secured perimeter of the rally.
"Knowing how people are screened that are in an immediate area of the former President — it actually would be more plausible to me that something came from outside the security zone,” Gant added.
Security is now top of mind as both parties prepare to hold conventions, and both candidates prepare for even more campaign stops.
"In light of this incident, I can assure you protection levels and security levels will become even more stringent,” Gant said.
He says in cases like this, special agents may assess the security situation weeks before the actual event so that they can immediately respond in the event of danger. When it strikes, they consider it a quote "zero fail assignment".
