The would-be assassin of former President Donald Trump reportedly conducted drone surveillance on Trump’s Butler, Pennsylvania rally site in the hours before taking aim at the former president.
An avalanche of outrage erupted on social media after a Wall Street Journal article citing “law-enforcement officials briefed on the matter” claimed on Friday evening that Thomas Matthew Crooks flew a drone and captured footage of the site shortly before the rally began. One rally attendee was killed, two were seriously injured and the former president’s ear was grazed by a bullet in the shooting.
The drone was reportedly programmed by Crooks to fly over the site on a “predetermined path,” likely gathering information that would allow the gunman to make a detailed plan for the deadly shooting, the WSJ reported.
Anna Moneymaker
Trump supporters, including the former president’s son Donald Trump Jr. and multiple Republican lawmakers, reacted to the report with outrage on X, formerly Twitter.
“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…” Trump Jr. wrote. “Now we have one literally scouting his speech!!!”
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…
Now we have one literally scouting his speech!!! 🤬 https://t.co/M3BAENqT4f— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 20, 2024
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.