CLAYTON, N.C. (WNCN) — A retired Secret Service agent who lives in Clayton is identifying several security flaws at Trump’s rally on Saturday ahead of the attempted assassination of the former president.
Watching the shooting at Trump’s rally on Saturday was a shock for Denny Shlindwein. “It gave me chills,” he said. “My adrenaline started to pump.”
Shlindwein knows what it’s like to protect former presidents and presidential candidates. He worked in the Secret Service from 1976 to 2001 and assisted at many political rallies. Shlindwein says Saturday’s shooting should not have happened. “I immediately knew the problem had to come up with the person who did the pre-emptive work,” he said.
The Secret Service goes to a location before an event to assess potential risks and Schlindwein said the building where the gunman was should have been identified and secured.
“I think because the highest point in that location was where the shooter was, it would have been an ideal location for the counterattack team,” he said. “I don’t know what would have happened if that guy had tried to crawl up there when they were there. That’s my opinion. They should have been there. That’s where you want to put them.”
As for the Secret Service team that rushed to attack the former president after he was wounded, Schlindwein said they did their job as they are trained. “They waited long enough and surrounded him the way they had to, so that an agent would have been hit before he was hit,” he said.
“Some people are saying that he shouldn’t have been allowed to raise his fist and that he should have been covered,” CBS 17 reported. Schlindwein responded: “They can’t stop him. They can’t put their arms around him; they just can’t do it.”
Shlindwein hopes the assassination attempt will lead to changes within the Secret Service.
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“They have learned from this, but I don’t think they should have had to learn from it,” he said.
Schlindwein added that questions need to be answered and concerns addressed. Still, he believes the Secret Service agents who protected the former president on Saturday night would have given their lives if necessary.
“My God, you walk the walk and I don’t know any agent in the world who wouldn’t do that.”
