WASHINGTON, D.C. – Patrick Yoes, National President of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), voiced concern over conflicting statements from the United States Secret Service (USSS) regarding recent events.
The issue arose following an interview on Monday with USSS Director Kimberly A. Cheatle, who spoke to ABC correspondent Pierre Thomas, stating, “In this particular instance, we did share support for that particular site and that the Secret Service was responsible for the inner perimeter. And then we sought assistance from our local counterparts for the outer perimeter. There was local police in that building – there was local police in the area that were responsible for the outer perimeter of the building.”
However, in the early hours of Tuesday morning, the USSS posted a contradictory statement on the social media platform X, asserting, “Any news suggesting the Secret Service is blaming local law enforcement for Saturday’s incident is simply not true.”
“This inconsistency between the Director’s interview and the subsequent social media statement is troubling,” remarked Yoes. “Our priority is to ensure the Secret Service receives all necessary support to fulfill their duties, and to do so with transparency, trust, and accuracy.”
“All of us want answers to our questions. There was, as Secretary Mayorkas said earlier, a security failure, one that nearly cost former President Trump his life,” FOP President Patrick Yoes said in a statement. “All of us in law enforcement can agree that the roof of the building should have been secured by law enforcement. It clearly was not. Nonetheless, we must recognize the extraordinary heroism of the Secret Service agents and other officers on the scene who saved the life of their protectee.”
Yoes emphasized the FOP’s commitment to collaborating closely with the USSS and other law enforcement agencies to uphold public safety and security.
For updates on this developing situation, the public is encouraged to stay tuned to official communications from the USSS and related authorities.
