It keeps getting worse: Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, who
attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump on July 13 in
Butler, Pennsylvania, reportedly flew a drone over the rally area
shortly before he executed his attack. Crooks scaled a rooftop
unmolested, despite scores of attendees watching him army crawl on the
roof, which was left unprotected by the Secret Service, as he lined up
to take shots at Trump.
The roof was less than 200 yards from the stage. Donald Trump Jr.
responded to this update tweeting, "Just to underscore how crazy this
all is, I was once prevented flying my own drone off of the beach at
Mar-a-Lago by USSS because my father was inside the house" (via WSJ):
WSJ,
breaking: “The gunman who tried to kill Donald Trump was able to fly a
drone and get aerial footage of the western Pennsylvania fairgrounds
shortly before the former president was set to speak there,
law-enforcement officials briefed on the matter said, further
underscoring…
— Josh Kraushaar (@JoshKraushaar) July 19, 2024
A
gunman who tried to kill Donald Trump was able to fly a drone and get
aerial footage of the western Pennsylvania fairgrounds shortly before
the former president was set to speak there, law-enforcement officials
briefed on the matter said, further underscoring the stunning security
lapses ahead of Trump’s near assassination.
Thomas Matthew Crooks
flew the drone on a programmed flight path earlier in the day on July
13 to scour the Butler Farm Show grounds ahead of Trump’s ill-fated
rally, the officials said. The predetermined path, the officials added,
suggests Crooks flew the drone more than once as he researched and
scoped out the event site.
The 20-year-old would-be assassin
fired at least six rounds from the roof of the American Glass Research
building roughly 400 feet away from where Trump spoke, killing one
spectator, critically injuring two others and leaving Trump with a graze
wound to the ear. A Secret Service sniper team shot back, killing
Crooks, whose motive remains a mystery.
Multiple investigations
are under way into how a gunman was able to climb onto a rooftop with a
clear line of sight to Trump and open fire with an AR-15 rifle. Police
had become suspicious of Crooks more than an hour earlier, when officers
saw him milling about the edges of the rally with a range finder and a
backpack.
Why the Secret Service left the rooftop unprotected
remains the predominant issue, especially since it was flagged as a
security vulnerability. There were snipers in the adjacent building at
the time of the attack, with another Secret Service sniper team having
their sights on Crooks two minutes before he fired the first shot. Yet,
even before the rally, the Secret Service was informed that there was a
credible threat against Trump’s life 10 minutes before he took the stage
but allowed him to proceed anyway.
Trump was the target of an
Iranian assassination plot, so he was given increased security, and this
shooting still occurred. Trump missed a fatal headshot by millimeters.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) revealed today that most of Trump’s security
detail weren’t even Secret Service agents. There is a mountain of
questions that need answers. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle
should be prepared to be grilled when he testified before the House
Oversight Committee on Monday.
Authorities spotted crooks over an
hour before he scaled the roof, being caught scouting the location with a
rangefinder. It's a security failure worthy of Cheatle's resignation,
but she has the protection of Jill Biden, who reportedly pushed for her
to get the job.
UPDATE: What a mess via Bill Melugin:
Per
federal law enforcement source w/ knowledge of the security planning
for Trump’s Butler, PA rally, the event was staffed by 22 Secret Service
agents, including advance, assault, and sniper teams, 16 HSI agents,
and it is believed there was no SS drone in the air.
Per source,
Secret Service did not request any tactical support from HSI (Homeland
Security Investigations) beforehand, including the HSI elite Special
Response team. HSI agents were assigned to “post standing” security
duties at the street entrance and the media area, and were not
responsible for the close proximity around Trump, or the buildings on
the exterior of the area where the shooter was.
The entire
operational security plan was created and carried out by Secret Service,
which told HSI and local law enforcement where they needed bodies, and
was responsible for the advance planning.
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