**TITLE**: Former Marshals Task Force Member Demands Secret Service Director's Resignation After Attempted Assassination of Trump
**SAPO**: Former U.S. Marshals task force member Terry Mikels joins bipartisan chorus demanding resignation of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, citing "deplorable" hearing on attempted assassination of former President Trump.
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**ARTICLE**:
In the wake of the attempted assassination of former President Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, a former U.S. Marshals task force member has joined the growing chorus of bipartisan lawmakers demanding the resignation of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle.
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Terry Mikels, a former U.S. Marshals Service task force officer and personal protection specialist with Executive Security Concepts, expressed his outrage over Cheatle's handling of the incident, particularly her admission that she did not read a report detailing the resources available to the advance team for the rally site.
"While that may not be her actual job, for her not to be apprised of what is going on is just so negligent," Mikels told Fox News Digital.
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Mikels' criticism extended to the Secret Service's failure to prevent Thomas Crooks, the gunman, from scoping out the Butler Farm Show fairgrounds venue beforehand and successfully climbing on top of a nearby roof, thereby evading security.
"What they've done, in my opinion, is they just showed any potential persons who want to do harm how easy it is," Mikels said. "Anybody could have climbed on that roof."
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Such a national security failure, according to Mikels, "opens the doors" for individuals seeking their "five minutes of fame."
"It opens the doors for so many potential people who are looking for their five minutes of fame to do something nefarious," he said, "because they realize how untrained and unprepared this detail was."
Mikels believes that Cheatle's inability to answer basic questions raised serious concerns about her competence to lead an agency responsible for protecting the nation's leaders.
"I don't think she has a win," he said. "Her biggest win today was apologizing to President Trump, to the family of the slain fire chief and the two victims and taking responsibility."
"There is no reason for this level of complete negligence," Mikels emphasized. "And she needs to be held accountable."
Mikels' call for Cheatle's resignation has garnered support from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. Republican Senator Ron Johnson has accused the Secret Service of "a huge mistake" in blaming a local police officer for failing to sweep the building where Crooks was hiding.
The Secret Service has vowed cooperation with all investigations into the agency in the wake of the attempted assassination, but did not return Fox News Digital's requests for comment on Mikels' criticism.
As the 2020 presidential election approaches and the Democratic National Convention looms, Mikels stressed the urgent need for improved preparedness among Secret Service personnel.
"We can't wait 90 days or six months for everybody to get prepared. We got a presidential election coming up, the Democratic National Convention, and people need to be ready yesterday."
