Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle will have much to answer for when she testifies on Capitol Hill, Rep. Dan Meuser told Newsmax on Monday.
The Pennsylvania Republican, who was at the rally where there was the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, told "Wake Up America" that Cheatle will have to explain "how this mistake was clearly made," and "she is going to have to answer for" the huge gap in security that occurred.
Meuser said he expects Cheatle to explain to Congress "why this occurred, who was in charge, what is the general plan" to fully provide protection, and "how could something in the line of sight and within shooting distance of the president be so open," referring to the building rooftop from which the shooter fired his rifle.
The congressman, who was sitting in the front row at the rally and was a witness to the assassination attempt, said shots rang out about eight minutes into Trump's speech.
He said that he saw Trump grab the side of his head and the former president "hit the deck. We didn't know how badly he was hit and then the crowd was very upset, crying, screaming, you name it."
"But I tell you what: When Trump stood up and gave that fist pump and he had blood on his face and gave a thumbs-up," it brought electricity to the crowd, Meuser said.
"A strong leader makes people stronger. People felt inspired. They even had a chant of 'USA, USA.'
"All their fears were gone," he said, explaining that even though at the time the crowd did not know that the shooter had been taken out and that there was not another gunman.
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Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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