By Cary Shuman
When the Boston media sought out expert analysis on the security efforts at the July 13 rally in Pennsylvania where there was an assassination attempt on the life of former President Donald Trump, they called on Winthrop resident Ed Cash.
about security following the shooting at former President
Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania.
Cash has been the president of Frontier Security Strategies for 10 years. His company has done security work throughout the United States.
A graduate of Salem States Univerrsity, Cash also served the full eight years (2001-09) of the President George W. Bush Administration, mostly as the director of advance operations under U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge. He was also a member of the White House advance team for President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.
One of Cash’s assignments was as the director of advance operations for Queen Elizabeth II’s visit to Richmond, Virginia in 2007 during Jamestown’s 400th anniversary.
Comments on the rally, what ongoing investigation will entail
Ed Cash said while there may have been a lapse in communications among the various departments covering the rally, “it ultimately falls under the Secret Service.”
Cash said the investigation should determine how the shooter gained access to the roof of the building located approximately 150 yards from the podium where President Trump was speaking. The theories are that the shooter used a ladder to reach the roof, or he may have scaled the walls of the building.
Cash said the ongoing investigation will reveal whether “there were any social media posts, was he recently fired from a job, or did he cause any disturbances.”
“They will look at any types of threats that he had made among any of the presidential candidates online and whether he was on the radar and security missed him,” said Cash.
Cash said there are also questions to be answered about the staffing levels of the Secret Service at the rally, the amount of resources it had available, and the technological devices used in securing the site.
“Most locations have drones or helicopters flying over and getting a vantage point from up above,” said Cash. “Did they have that technology and why wasn’t this person picked up?”
Cash said his company assisted in the security efforts for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit to Wellesley College for a building dedication ceremony in April.
“The Wellesley Police had two drones up looking out for any protesters,” said Cash.
Cassidy said the weekend of the rally was a particularly busy time for the Secret Service with First Lady Dr. Jill Biden visiting Pittsburgh Saturday “and you also had a ton of agents preparing for the Republican Convention in Milwaukee, and a group of agents ready to deploy for the vice-presidential nominee [Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance was selected as the nominee]. Presidential campaigns are busy. They go non-stop.”