It keeps getting worse. As the Secret Service stonewalls the media and elected lawmakers regarding the glaring security breaches at Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, Fox News is reporting that federal agents knew there was a threat to the former president’s life ten minutes before he took the stage. They still allowed him to proceed with the rally and had identified the shooter over an hour before the attack because he was spotted with a rangefinder by authorities. Former President Donald Trump barely escaped an assassination attempt on July 13, where a bullet grazed his right ear, missing a fatal headshot by millimeters.
🚨#BREAKING: According to Fox News, the Secret Service was aware of a threat about 10 minutes before Trump walked on stage and still let him proceed. Additionally, the shooter was identified over an hour before the shooting as suspicious because he was seen with a rangefinder and… pic.twitter.com/33xG82USXx
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) July 17, 2024
BREAKING: Secret Service tells Congress they identified Thomas Crooks as a threat at least 10 minutes before Trump walked on stage.
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) July 17, 2024
Trump camp was not notified.
The Secret Service agent-in-charge was on the phone with local police as the shooting broke out.
Unacceptable. pic.twitter.com/hTyaS6P1OW
TRAUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT | LATEST:
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) July 17, 2024
- Thomas Crooks visited site of rally day before event, per NBC
- Was photographed 62 minutes before shooting
- SS counter-snipers spotted him 20 minutes before attack
- Cell phone depicted livestream of rally, per NBC
- Still no motive pic.twitter.com/ZxqRDGsMS3
I just got off a briefing with the Secret Service and FBI. I am appalled to learn that the Secret Service knew about a threat prior to President Trump walking on stage.
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) July 17, 2024
I have no confidence in the leadership of Director Cheatle and believe it is in the best interest of our…
The agency has been subjected to extreme scrutiny over the glaring security lapses during the attack, specifically how a rooftop with a clear vantage point to the stage, less than 200 yards away, wasn’t secure. There were reportedly sniper teams inside the building when shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, opened fire. To add to the incompetence, Secret Service sniper teams had spotted Crooks two minutes before he fired the first shot at the former president.
Spencer added yesterday that Trump had increased security due to a credible assassination plot by the Iranians, and this attack still happened. The parents of Crooks also phoned authorities about their son on the day of his assassination attempt on Trump.
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle explained that no personnel were stationed on the roof because it was sloped, which was rightly met with extreme skepticism and mockery. This location was also flagged as a security vulnerability before the rally.
This is insane pic.twitter.com/tJWyi02Fs2
— Mason (@webdevMason) July 18, 2024
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UPDATE: Crooks scoped out the area days before the Trump rally.
NEW: The man who shot at former President Trump visited the site of the Pennsylvania rally days ahead of the event to scope out the area, two sources familiar with Wednesday’s Senate briefing on the assassination attempt tell NBC News. https://t.co/gSWq8ks5pp
— Breaking News (@BreakingNews) July 17, 2024
US Secret Service and FBI briefers told House lawmakers Wednesday that the man who attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump visited the rally site twice after it was announced, including on the day of the shooting.
Based on cell phone data, it was estimated that the shooter was there for 70 minutes, two lawmakers told CNN.
There is still no clear motive, per multiple sources on the call.