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UPDATE: Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle submitted her resignation Tuesday morning, following yesterday’s hearing. Joe Biden said he will now appoint a new director.
From the Daily Caller: Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez asked U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle a seemingly obvious question during a Congressional hearing Monday that the director was unable to answer.
Ocasio-Cortez asked Cheatle why the Secret Service perimeter at former President Donald Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, wasn’t outside the range of America’s most popular rifle. Thomas Matthew Crooks shot at Trump from a range of about 150 yards away last Saturday, nicking his ear and coming within centimeters of killing the former president.
“The individual used an AR-15 in order to act out his assassination attempt,” the congresswoman stated. “An AR-15 has a range of about 400 to 600 yards. My question is, why is the Secret Service protective perimeter shorter than one of the most popular semi-automatic weapons in the United States?”
Cheatle responded by saying “there are a number of weapons out there with a number of ranges.” She claimed she could not “speak to specifics” about the determination of the perimeter.
Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat Socialist, also slammed Cheatle for saying a report of the investigation won’t be available for 60 days.
WATCH BELOW:
Why was the Secret Service’s protective perimeter in Butler shorter than the range of an AR-15?
It does not take 60 days to answer that question.
The agency’s failure to publicly account for these questions and others from Congress is unacceptable.
Dir. Cheatle should resign. pic.twitter.com/5C50Qi5EJS
— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@RepAOC) July 23, 2024
