9 Secret Service Failures that Led to Trump Almost Being Assassinated
(AmericaSuperstore.com) – This past Saturday, during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, former President Donald Trump came dangerously close to being assassinated in what is believed to be the biggest Secret Service blunder in forty years.
The fact remains that the organization tasked with defending Trump was unable to prevent the gunman, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, from setting up shop less than 500 feet away, killing Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old volunteer fire chief, and hitting President Trump in the ear.
"Most importantly, and I mean this from the bottom of my heart, Trump is a threat to this nation." - Joe Biden yesterday pic.twitter.com/31lNO7bk3p
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) July 14, 2024
Numerous investigations are in progress, but there have been few replies yet. Kimberly Cheatle, the director of the Secret Service, is scheduled to testify before the House Oversight Committee on Monday.
The following nine significant security lapses by the Secret Service that we are now aware of require attention:
1. There was an apparent security concern from the rooftop from where Crooks fired shots at Trump. According to NBC News, the Secret Service had recognized the rooftop as a possible point of vulnerability in the days leading up to the rally.
Why was the building given to local law enforcement and not included in the Secret Service's inside perimeter? Why wasn't the building's perimeter secured? How did rally participants see Crooks ascending to the rooftop and positioning himself before the police could stop him?
When did the Secret Service's counter-sniper teams learn about him, and why weren't any of them designated to keep an eye on the rooftop?
2. The Secret Service allowed local police enforcement to be housed inside the structure instead of outside on the roof. According to Cheatle, the choice was to house local law enforcement inside the structure instead of on top of it.
She asserted that the roof's "slope" was a "safety factor" in the decision. Dan Bongino, a podcast presenter and former Secret Service agent, has dubbed that "bullsh-t."
.@dbongino has broken much of what we know about the assassination attempt & the many failures & LIES of the Secret Service. When the local tactical team failed to show up & secure roof, no one in SS bothered to follow up. Hence the lies about the slope…pic.twitter.com/HU1D4IESQV
— Rita Panahi (@RitaPanahi) July 17, 2024
In his July 18, 2024, podcast episode, Bongino stated that he had heard from sources that local police snipers were placed inside because they were pitted against counter-snipers and thought they could accomplish the task from the building's second story.
This raises the question: Why weren't counter-snipers on the rooftop watching for would-be snipers?
3. The building's exterior was not secure, which gave Crooks access to the rooftop. Who was guarding the building from the outside or the rooftop from below, even if local police snipers were not stationed on the rooftop?
Did local law enforcement officers have a watch duty at the building? The Washington Post stated that although the agency had planned ahead, local police had informed the Secret Service before Saturday that they did not have the means to place a patrol car and officer outside the facility.
Why didn't the Secret Service devise a backup strategy? How did Crooks manage to go to the top unhindered and get a direct line of sight with Trump?
4. About three hours before Trump spoke, at around 3 p.m., local law police noticed Crooks near a magnetometer with a range finder. After that, they lost sight of him. Why hadn't law enforcement or the Secret Service questioned or followed him earlier?
CNN reports that Crooks caused a stir when he passed past magnetometers erected to check participants for the presence of a range finder. This device resembles a tiny pair of binoculars and is frequently used by the military or hunters to locate targets.
According to Bongino, there is disagreement over whether he used magnetometers in real life. Nevertheless, he was supposedly seen close to them.
The questions are: Who saw Crooks using the range finder, and who was informed of the sighting? Why wasn't he followed up with or questioned at that point?
5. Crooks was not stopped or questioned even though local law enforcement officers reportedly saw him about an hour before Trump was scheduled to speak.
They saw him hanging outside the building, scoping the rooftop, returning with a backpack, and pulling out a range finder. They reported him to a command center.
It is unclear to whom Crooks was reported, whether the Secret Service knew about him then, and why he was not apprehended or questioned in light of his suspicious activity.
How was he permitted to ascend onto the rooftop without being stopped if he was under the notice of the Secret Service or local law enforcement?
6. About 20 minutes before Trump entered the stage, at 5:52 p.m., the Secret Service allegedly saw Crooks on the rooftop. Despite this, the agency did not prevent Trump from taking the platform.
At 5:52 p.m., ABC News reported he was spotted on the rooftop by Secret Service snipers. Why was Trump permitted to speak on stage even though?
When a local police officer observed Crooks on the rooftop sometime around 6:02 p.m., it was said that he pointed his gun at him, which caused him to tumble back down and hurt himself.
Were the Secret Service snipers present when this occurred, and if so, why were they inactive at that time?
7. The Secret Service snipers did nothing before Crooks fired at Trump, even though he had drawn his gun and positioned himself to shoot him.
Why wasn't he neutralized before he could shoot Trump, even after the Secret Service recognized him as a threat and after he took out a gun and took up position?
Why was there an 11-second delay between Crooks' initial shot at Trump and the Secret Service snipers' fatal shot, assuming they had seen him at 5:52 p.m.?
8. Trump arrived on stage at 6:02 p.m., and for ten minutes, no action was taken to remove him from the platform until Crooks was able to open fire on him at 6:12 p.m.
Why wasn't Trump removed from the stage, even if Secret Service snipers saw Crooks on the rooftop and were unsure of what to do?
Who decided not to try to remove him, and was there an attempt to do so?
9. No drone monitoring was conducted during the event, which would have allowed law police to catch Crooks scaling the rooftop earlier.
Despite the Secret Service's capacity to request drone monitoring, Bongino claims no drone was used to record the event.
Was that capability requested by the Secret Service? If yes, who disputed it and to what extent?
Trump’s walk out in Michigan today.
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 20, 2024
Most pro sports teams don’t get crowds like this.
The power of populism 👊🏼🇺🇸pic.twitter.com/Y5YZpNLtRh
On Monday, Cheatle—who has acknowledged that she has no plans to retire despite receiving calls for her resignation—will have many questions to respond to.
Should the Secret Service Director be immediately fired?
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