Newly released bodycam footage reveals the chaos that unfolded before and after Thomas Crooks’ assassination attempt on former President Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last month.
The Butler Township Police Department released 12 body camera videos Thursday that illustrate the colossal security failure that nearly felled the presidential nominee, cost a retired fire chief his life and seriously injured two others.
On July 13, Crooks was able to clamber onto a rooftop and squeeze off eight shots a mere 147 yards from the former president as he addressed a crowd onstage. A countersniper stationed on a nearby roof swiftly killed Crooks with a single bullet to the head.
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A collage of images from police body camera footage that was released Thursday from the July 13 attempted assassination of former President Trump. (Butler Township Police Department)
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“I f—ing told them they need to post the guys f—ing over here. I told them,” a police officer can be heard saying minutes after the attempted assassination. “The Secret Service. I told them that f—ing Tuesday.”
Another person can be heard off camera saying he thought the man speaking had been posted on the roof.
“No, we were inside,” the local officer replied.
Secret Service leadership has yet to adequately explain why no one was stationed on the roof, which had a direct line of sight to the president, but the footage suggests a complete breakdown in communication.
“This reinforces that this was very badly organized, and that’s irrefutable, and that comes down to the Service,” former NYPD Inspector Paul Mauro told Fox News Digital.
Officer’s terrifying confrontation with would-be Trump assassin
An officer can be seen hoisting a colleague onto the roof where Crooks was positioned with an AR-15 rifle. The shooter pointed the weapon at the officer, forcing him to duck and lose his balance while hanging from the side of the building.
Seconds later, Crooks opened fire, striking Trump in the ear and killing former firefighter Corey Comperatore.
“F—, this close bro, dude – he turned around on me,” the officer who came face-to-face with Crooks can be heard saying on the footage.
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The video shows the officer scrambling to retrieve a large gun from his car and then joining a swarm of other law enforcement agents who begin surrounding the building.
The officer describes Crooks to the others as they prepare to ascend to the roof, telling them that he has glasses and long hair. He adds that Crooks has a long gun and several magazines.
“Watch out,” he tells them, “because he can come down right on top of you over there.”
But Crooks was already dead. Later in the footage, Crooks’ lifeless body is seen surrounded by officers.
Several attendees said they repeatedly warned officers at the scene of Crooks’ presence.
Police first took note of Crooks at 5:10 p.m., roughly 50 minutes before he shot at Trump. Local law enforcement took a picture of Crooks at 5:30 p.m. and alerted their superiors. But police lost sight of him.
“I’m f—ing p—ed. We couldn’t find him,” another officer is heard saying in the bodycam footage.
Mauro said the Butler Township Police officers who spotted Crooks on the roof were on traffic duty at the event yet realized the seriousness of the situation and abandoned their posts.
“You can see the level of confusion,” he said.
Communication breakdown
After the officer’s confrontation with Crooks, he relays to the other law enforcement officials his frustration.
“Before you motherf—ers came up here, I popped my head up there like an idiot by myself, dude,” the officer who was boosted onto the roof says. “Then he (Crooks) turned around, and I f—ing dropped, and I started f—ing … I was calling out, ‘Bro, f—ing on top of the roof.’ F—ing, we’re not on the same frequency?”
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A map detailing the locations of interest pertaining to the investigation of Thomas Crooks’ attempted assassination of former President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. (Provided by Senator Chuck Grassley)
The comment suggests that the local police were not on the same radio frequency as the other law enforcement agencies, including the Secret Service, or their equipment wasn’t working properly, Mauro said.
When the officer tried to warn the Secret Service that Crooks had a gun, the message didn’t get through.
“The video confirms the speculation that the communications were a mess, and it’s undeniable,” Mauro said.
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Spotty cell service further hampered the team’s ability to communicate in the midst of a rapidly unfolding crisis.
Shortly after the shooting, an officer can be heard on video summarizing the jarring lapse.
“I’d say this is a f—up … somebody f—ed up,” he says.
Fox News’ Audrey Conkin, Michael Dorgan and Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.