Wait, That's How Many Radio Transmissions the Secret Service Missed About Trump's Would-be Assassin?

The Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general report details the missteps and shortfalls by the Secret Service during the Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where Thomas Crooks attempted to assassinate Donald Trump. The incident took place on July 13, 2024. Trump narrowly escaped death: if he hadn’t turned his head, he likely would have been struck by a fatal shot to the head. Crooks was later neutralized by Secret Service snipers. Corey Comperatore, a firefighter and rally attendee, was hit by a round and later died from his injuries. He was shielding his family during the attack.

Crooks climbed onto a rooftop with a clear view of the rally stage. He was less than 500 feet from Trump. How he managed to get onto the roof and fire multiple rounds became an immediate controversy, exposing a glaring security flaw around the president. We’ve covered the Secret Service being a dumpster fire in this situation. Why weren’t there snipers on the roof that Crooks occupied? Then-director Kimberley Cheatle said it was due to safety issues because of the sloped roofs, an answer that earned her universal condemnation following the assassination attempt. She got cooked before Congress and later resigned.

A new inspector general report released two years after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, says the Secret Service missed more than 100 radio transmissions warning about the suspected gunman.

The attack killed firefighter Corey Comperatore as he… pic.twitter.com/WVyqQgn44k
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) July 13, 2026

Now, we’ve learned that there were some 100 radio transmissions the Secret Service missed about the would-be assassin on the day of the attack (via WBAL):

Government officials said in a report that during Donald Trump's 2024 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, Secret Service officials failed to receive more than 100 urgent messages about an active shooter.
According to a release from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General on June 30, 2026, the Secret Service failed to carry out and arrange several security measures during Trump's then-campaign rally for president on July 13, 2024, at the Butler Fairgrounds, which is located around 44 miles from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Sister station WTAE in Pittsburgh reports that the 64-page report outlined the Secret Service's shortcomings, saying members failed to receive 102 radio transmissions from local authorities concerning an "increasingly intense search for a suspicious person."
According to the report from OIG, the Secret Service only received five phone calls and three text messages about the shooter, who was later identified as Thomas Crooks.
The calls included reports that Crooks had a range finder and a long gun and had taken a position on top of the American Glass Research International complex's roof.