Charlie Kirk assassination raises new Secret Service security issues

The Secret Service went all out to combat unprecedented political threats, a problem highlighted Conservative activist Charlie Kirk assassinated.

The Secret Service is launching a series of changes to strengthen its safety practices President Donald Trump’s two assassination attempts Experts say the agency is now at an extremely high state last year with unprecedented levels of threat.

“Now, the Secret Service has to play a role with enhanced security they never dreamed of. I think [Secret Service Director Sean Curran] Tim Miller, who served as Secret Service agents during his presidency in the administration of George HW Bush and Bill Clinton, told Fox News on Thursday: “But this is bad news for the Secret Service: they don’t have time. Now it’s the threat. Can you imagine – they’ve shot our president. Can you imagine if they can kill him?”

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Kirk, 31, died after being shot dead in the neck during a “America Comeback” at Utah University on Wednesday. The assassination once came a year after two attempts to take the president’s life.

Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old gunman, opened fire on Trump from the roof during a campaign rally in July 2024, and one of eight bullets shot Trump in the ear. The gunman also shot and killed 50-year-old firefighters, with his father and husband attending the rally and killed two other people.

Similarly, Ryan Routh was arrested in September 2024 at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida and assassinated Trump in September 2024 at his Trump International Golf Club. Routh is accused of attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, and his trial begins Thursday.

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The then-public presidential candidate Donald Trump was kicked off his fist by a U.S. Secret Service agent after being grazed by bullets at a rally held in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024. (Getty Images/Anna Moneymaker)

Both attempts to assassinate Trump are under investigation.

Bill Gage, who served as Special Agent for the Secret Service during the administrations of George W. Bush and Barack Obama, said that even though the agency did not provide security during the Kirk event, it would review as others around the world for assassination. As a result, in response to Kirk’s death, the agency may consider strengthening smaller security details for Trump’s family, such as the president’s son Barron.

“I think they might look at some smaller details again, which sometimes have only two and maybe three agents, okay?” Gage told Fox News Digital on Thursday. “So, again, this will increase the pressure that agencies have already extended.”

Miller, who now leads the Lionheart International Services Group, said that the Lionheart International Services Group, which provides security support and training, said Kirk’s assassination was not a “one-off” incident and that the agency should adopt a similar mentality to the Department of Defense to train wartime.

“The Secret Service should be the biggest, worst, meanest person on the planet,” Miller said. “They should have the experience and skills, and when it went bad, no better experience.”

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President Donald Trump on the board of directors of Andrews United Base, Maryland on August 1, 2025. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Miller had previously described the attack on Fox News’ digital numbers as a “wake-up call” from the Secret Service, noting that the incident was the driving force behind the agency’s internal reforms.

The bipartisan House task force investigating the attack found that attempted assassination was “preventable” and concluded that multiple errors were not isolated incidents.

Former Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe Expand the use of drones For surveillance purposes, larger anti-drone technology is also incorporated to mitigate dynamic attacks from other drones.

Rowe said the agency also overhauled its radio communication network and interoperability with networks with Secret Service staff and state and local law enforcement officers.

A Secret Service vehicle near the White House in Washington, DC on Friday, January 24, 2025. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Although Miller said the Secret Service was working to implement changes, he said he was worried that it might not be fast enough to keep up with the threats facing the president. Additionally, he said the agency has also increased pressure to improve its skills given Kirk’s assassination and attempts against Trump last year.

“After yesterday, I’m sure every Secret Service agent recognizes that they can be working one day every day,” Miller said.

The Secret Service expressed condolences to the Kirk family but declined to comment on any specific changes in Trump’s security details.

“President Trump has obtained the highest level of protection from the U.S. Secret Service, which adjusts our protective posture as needed to mitigate evolving threats,” a Secret Service spokesperson told Fox News on Thursday. “We cannot discuss the means and methods used to protect actions out of concerns about operational safety.”