Former President Donald Trump was nearly assassinated a week ago, as he spoke at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday in what is seen as the largest Secret Service failure in four decades.
The bottom line is the agency in charge of protecting Trump failed to stop the shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, from positioning himself less than 500 feet away and firing eight bullets at the former president, one coming mere millimeters from taking his life.
There are multiple investigations underway, but so far, very few answers. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle is due to testify to the House Oversight Committee on Monday.
Here are nine major Secret Service security failures we know of so far that need to be addressed:
1. The rooftop that Crooks fired at Trump from was an obvious security risk. According to NBC News, the rooftop was identified as a potential vulnerability by the Secret Service in the days before the rally. Why was the building excluded from Secret Service’s inside perimeter and assigned to local law enforcement? Why wasn’t the perimeter around the building secured? How were rally-goers able to spot Crooks climbing to the rooftop and getting in position before law enforcement could stop him? When did Secret Service counter-sniper teams become of aware of him and why weren’t any assigned specifically to watch the rooftop?
2. Secret Service allowed local law enforcement to be placed inside the building instead of on the rooftop. Cheatle has said a decision was made to put local law enforcement inside the building instead of on top of it. She claimed that the decision was due to a “safety factor” because the roof was “sloped.” Former Secret Service agent and podcast host Dan Bongino has called that “bullsh-t.” Bongino said on his July 18, 2024, podcast episode that sources have told him that local police snipers were put inside because they were snipers versus counter-snipers and believed they could do the job from the second floor of the building. This leads to the question — why weren’t counter-snipers watching out for potential snipers on the rooftop?
3. There was a lack of security of the building on the ground, allowing Crooks to access the rooftop. Even if local police snipers were not put on the rooftop, who was securing the building from entry or the rooftop from the ground? Were there local law enforcement assigned to guard the building? The Washington Post reported that a proposal to station a patrol car and officer outside of the building had been a part of the agency’s advance planning, but that local police had told the Secret Service before Saturday that they lacked the resources to do so. Why didn’t the Secret Service come up with an alternate plan? How was Crooks allowed to climb on top unimpeded, and get in a position with a direct line of sight to Trump?
4. Local law enforcement first spotted Crooks near a magnetometer with a range finder around 3 p.m. — about three hours before Trump spoke — but then was lost track of. Why wasn’t he questioned or tracked by the Secret Service or law enforcement earlier? According to CNN, Crooks drew attention when he entered through magnetometers set up to screen attendees for having a range finder, which looks like a small pair of binoculars but are often used by hunters or the military to identify targets. Bongino said it is disputed whether he actually went through magnetometers. Still — he was reportedly spotted near them, and the questions are: Who noticed Crooks with the range finder, and was that reported and to whom? Why wasn’t he questioned at that point, or tracked?
5. Despite local law enforcement officers reportedly spotting Crooks about an hour before Trump was to speak — hanging around outside the building, and then seen scoping the rooftop, returning with a backpack and pulling out a range finder — and reporting him to a command center, he was not stopped and questioned. It is not clear who Crooks was reported to, whether the Secret Service was aware of him at this point, and why he was not stopped or questioned given his suspicious behavior. If he was on local law enforcement and/or the Secret Service’s radar, how was he allowed to climb onto the rooftop unimpeded?
6. Secret Service reportedly spotted Crooks at 5:52 p.m. on the rooftop — about 20 minutes before Trump took the stage — but did not stop Trump from taking the stage. ABC News reported that Secret Service snipers spotted him on the rooftop at 5:52 p.m. Why was Trump still allowed to take the stage? A local police officer reportedly climbed up to the rooftop sometime after 6:02 p.m. and saw Crooks — who allegedly pointed his gun at him, prompting him to get back down, fall, and injure himself. Did the Secret Service snipers witness this, and if so, why didn’t they do anything at that point?
7. Despite Crooks pulling out his weapon and getting into position to shoot Trump, Secret Service snipers did not do anything before he fired at Trump. Why, even after Secret Service identified him as a threat, and after he pulled out a gun and got into position, was he not neutralized before he was able to fire at Trump? Why, if Secret Service snipers had spotted him at 5:52 p.m., was there an 11-second lag time between when Crooks first fired at Trump and Secret Service snipers fired back, killing him?
8. Trump took the stage at 6:02 p.m., but nothing was done to get him off the stage for 10 minutes, until Crooks was able to fire at him at 6:12 p.m. Even if Secret Service snipers were not sure what to do after seeing Crooks on the rooftop, why was Trump not taken off the stage? Was there an attempt to do so or a decision made not to try to take him off, and by whom?
9. There was no drone surveillance of the rally that could have alerted law enforcement to Crooks climbing to the rooftop sooner. According to Bongino, there was no drone surveillance of the rally, despite Secret Service being able to request that capability. Did Secret Service request that capability? If so, was it denied and by whom?
Cheatle — who is facing calls for her resignation but has insisted she has no intentions to step down — will have a lot of questions to answer on Monday.
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