Attorney General Merrick Garland cast the assassination attempt of former President Trump as a threat to democracy, calling it “extremely alarming” the shooter was able to get so close to him.
“This should not happen in America. This kind of security failure is not acceptable. This kind of a horrific attack on a former American president just can’t continue. We have to be sure we stop this,” Garland said during an interview with NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, his first since the July 13 shooting.
“This is extremely alarming. Democracy will not survive if people decide that the way in which they’re going to get whatever outcomes they want, or whatever other motive he may have, is by killing someone,” Garland added. “That’s why we have to find out what happened here, why it happened and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
The Justice Department, through the FBI, is investigating the shooting, during which Thomas Matthew Crooks fired bullets that grazed Trump’s ear, injured two others, and killed a man attending the rally in Butler, Pa.
During the interview Garland also warned about the dangers associated with failing to accept election results — comments that come as Trump has made baseless claims about the legitimacy of the coming election.
“This is a democracy, and in a democracy, people, as I said, argue with each other vociferously, yell at each other, disagree with each other and then vote. And that is how we resolve matters,” Garland said.
“There will always be a winner and a loser … and that person’s supporters will always be upset. But in a democracy, we have to accept the results. Otherwise, democracy won’t survive. I can say that America’s elections are the most secure on the planet. And everybody has to accept that if our democracy is going to survive.”