Thomas Matthew Crooks, armed with an AR-style rifle, managed to scale a building and access its roof, which offered a direct sightline to former President Donald Trump, speaking less than 150 yards away at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13.
It was by chance that Trump, deviating from his teleprompter, turned his head to look at a chart displayed for the crowd at the exact moment a bullet grazed his ear instead of piercing his skull.
A security operations plan had positioned three counter-snipers from Beaver County’s Emergency Services Unit (ESU) team inside the same building to monitor the rally from windows, with none stationed on its roof, as reported by BeaverCountian. Additionally, two sources familiar with the agency’s operations disclosed to NBC News that this site was identified by the Secret Service as a potential vulnerability days before the event, with the agency fully aware of the associated risks.
Questions: Beyond ‘AR-15’ what weapon, exactly? How was it equipped? What type of ammunition, exactly? How many shots? How many unfired rounds left in the magazine? In the backpack? How many people were hit/grazed? Who are they and what are their injuries. What are President Trump’s injuries? How many fired rounds have been recovered? From where? Is the venue still an active crime scene, and if so, why was the roof being washed? What was the presumptive shooter doing over the several days prior? What was the transmitter for? What else was in the car? Was the shooter in contact with anyone by phone or other device while at the rally? Was the water tower covered? If so, how? If not, why not?
According to reporting by The New York Times, a Secret Service spokesman acknowledged that local police officers radioed agents about a suspicious person on Saturday before Trump went onstage. Were these the same agents in the command center notified by Sergeant Nicol as early as at least 5:45 p.m. that day—nearly 30 minutes before shots were fired? If so, was this crucial information relayed to Trump’s security detail on the ground? If not, why not? And if it was communicated, why was Trump allowed to take the stage?
Responding to reports that Crooks was seen and identified as potentially suspicious before he opened fire, the United States Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle told ABC News that only “a very short period of time” passed between then and the shooting. “Seeking that person out, finding them, identifying them, and eventually neutralizing them took place in a very short period of time,” she said, “and it makes it very difficult.”
It’s unclear if the “very short period of time” referenced by Cheatle includes the nearly 30 minutes (at least) of multiple warnings about Crooks, complete with photos taken of him, that were relayed to the command center—warnings issued by law enforcement stationed inside the building under the direction of the Secret Service.
Cheatle also seemed to shift blame to local law enforcement, saying that local authorities were tasked with securing the building from where the shots were fired. “There was local police in that building—there was local police in the area responsible for the outer perimeter of the building,” she stated. However, NBC News reported that Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger asserted that the Secret Service was in charge of security outside the venue. “They had meetings the week prior. The Secret Service ran the show. They designated who did what,” Goldinger explained. “In the command hierarchy, they were top, they were No. 1.”
A timeline compiled from reports by BeaverCountian and WXPI Channel 11 reveals multiple warnings about Crooks that were seemingly ignored or inadequately addressed:
- A law enforcement officer from Beaver County’s ESU team had seen Crooks on the ground prior to 5:45 p.m.—nearly 30 minutes before shots were fired at 6:11 p.m.—and called him in as a suspicious person with a picture. (WXPI Channel 11)
- Sergeant Gregory Nicol, one of the three municipal counter-snipers stationed inside the building, “saw the guy [Crooks] looking up at the roof of the building he was stationed in, like scoping it out, and took a picture of him that he sent to command as a be on the lookout,” a source within law enforcement said. (BeaverCountian)
- An officer checked the grounds for Crooks at that point, but did not see him where the first picture was taken. (WXPI Channel 11)
- Sergeant Nicol then “saw [Crooks] return to the building, this time carrying a backpack, more warnings were issued to command. [Crooks] sat down, and began looking at his phone. Trump was running about an hour late.” (BeaverCountian)
- Nicol “saw [Crooks] take out a rangefinder to gauge distance from the building to where Trump was going to be speaking, he again notified command about what he was seeing.” (BeaverCountian)
- An officer noticed a suspicious man on a roof near the rally at 5:45 p.m., called it in and took a picture of the person. It’s not clear if Crooks had a gun with him at that point. (WXPI Channel 11)
- Twenty-six minutes after the second picture of Crooks was taken by law enforcement around 5:45 p.m., and the information called in, shots were fired from the roof of the American Glass Research building. (WXPI Channel 11)
It’s unclear whether Sergeant Nicol, named in the BeaverCountian report, is the same officer described in WXPI’s report.
On the election front, you wonder why Democrats fought so hard to allow registration to vote without proof of citizenship???
Paul Plante says
Just another Sunday morning in America!
Trump almost assassinated as Joe Biden’s Secret Service looks on.
Reminds me of Lee Harvey Oswald back in Dallas, somehow.
Mary F says
Exactly the same. In this case, Crooks is the fall guy. The real shooter came out of the current administration. Just like JFK’s murder……
Elvis Earp says
I do not like and did not vote for Trump.
That being said, it seems to me that there was a deep state hit planned and enabled by Homeland security and it’s diverse agencies.
That’s a big deal, but the Democratic party and Media are trying to cover it up like a cat covers crap.
Since Federal employees cannot be fired and no one will be held accountable, there’s an even chance that there will be another attempt.
Incredible,…..
..meanwhile President Biden is laying low and the Vice President trying to appear more competent than she really is.
And so it goes.
Mary F says
The attempt on Trump’s life should surprise no one. With the main stream media , most “celebrities” , and every democrat politician and bureaucrat comparing him to Hitler, it was to be almost expected that it would incite some unbalanced mind to violence against Trump. ( Although, I believe the “shooter” was a patsy for what was most probably and inside job.) Add to that all the network and cable talking heads claiming they “fear for their lives and liberty if Donald Trump is elected. He will throw us prison.” And “Donald Trump is a threat to democracy.” Etc Etc Etc Examples of the hate and intolerance of the left are all around us, every day. Take a stroll down Mason Ave and see what Frank Wendell proudly displays.
Elvis Earp says
The plot thickens.
And back at the ranch, Kamala takes the tiller.
Media proclaims that Biden is a national hero for seeing the light.
A proper choice for her VP could defeat Trump and CJ Vance.
Hunter can somewhat relax; Daddy will have pardon power till January and perhaps Kamala after that, with the agreement that she will take care of him.
Any halfway decent VP pick could lead to a Democratic victory.
Trump afficionados should not be celebrating prematurely…..
Yancy Derringer says
Media has just spent the last two days telling us how glorious and astounding Kamala Harris is and how she will smoke Trump in the election.
Someone’s smoking something…..
Dems are blasting Joe Manchin for unknown reasons.
I’d vote for him…
And, meanwhile, back at the ranch….Biden’s still in control, (still too dim to attract a moth), and Lord knows what he’ll do over the next five months.
Paul Plante says
And anyone thinking the Democrats are giving up on their attempts to get Trump assassinated by stoking up a mob sentiment against Trump with their continuous HATE SPEECH, which is easy to do given the Democrats are a mob, the very epitome and personification of ochlocracy (see, for example, Poestenkill Democrat FACEBOOK page https://www.facebook.com/PKDemocrats/ “WE are stronger together”) is seriously deluded.
(Recall the Trump-hating top FBI agents involved in CROSSFIRE HURRICANE, keeping in mind that Joe Biden and the Democrats control both the FBI and secret service, the same people who could never quite figure out how the TOOT or NOSE CANDY ended up in Joe Biden’s white house.)
Consider the pencil-necked California Democrat Adam “SHIFTY” Schiff in the CNBC article titled “Rep. Adam Schiff calls on Biden to drop out of election contest, warns of losing Congress” by Dan Mangan on July 17, 2024:
“A second Trump presidency will undermine the very foundation of our democracy.”
Or U.S. Sen. Pat Ryan, a Hudson Valley Democrat, in the Albany, New York Hearst publication Times Union article titled “Hochul praises VP Harris: ‘New York is Kamala Harris country’ – Gov. Kathy Hochul, long one of Joe Biden’s most ardent supporters, pledged to throw New York’s considerable political clout behind Vice President Kamala Harris” by Raga Justin on July 22, 2024:
“The choice is clear, and the contrast is stark,” Ryan said in a statement posted on X.
“Vice President Harris fights for freedom.”
“Trump wants to take it away.”
Paul Plante says
According to the news, if Biden didn’t take the long walk to the shower room, Democrat mob boss NANCY Pelosi was going to take him out on 25th Amendment grounds.
So after the gaffer saying he was the only one who could beat Trump, if the Democrats can’t get him whacked beforehand, all of a sudden, now it is cackling Karmela Harris, she of the Venn diagrams and little yellow school buses, who is the only Democrat who can beat Trump, assuming the Democrats haven’t found a better assassin before November.
As to JFK, he was hated in Texas, and he went there to prove to the nation and world that there was no place in America an American president could not go, and against advice, he chose to ride in an open car to show the nation and the world that he was not afraid of the Texans.
Then, conveniently, in a room full of cops, Jack Ruby comes in and blows Lee Harvey Oswald’s **** away, silencing him forever.
As to Democrat hate campaigns, and the Hearst publication the Albany Times Union spewing anti-Trump hate messages today, who can forget back in April of 1901 the Hearst’s Journal barrage of hate against president McKinley shortly before McKinley’s second inauguration, by editorializing in favor of political assassination, telling all the whack-jobs out there in America that “If bad institutions and bad men can be got rid of only by killing, then the killing must be done,” and in the case of McKinley, so it was to be.
So it’s going to be interesting to see if the Democrats can succeed in their efforts to off Trump before November, and it is interesting scanning down through that Poestenkill Democrat FACEBOOK page ( https://www.facebook.com/PKDemocrats/ “WE are stronger together”) to note a number of previous posts have been taken down since I made mention of it elsewhere in here as a hate site.
Sherlock says
Having the National and Local media on the team advising the citizens on who to vote for is a nice advantage for the Democrats. It is also very helpful with any future denials or coverups.
The federal employees, welfare crew, unions, minority and illegal votes should help too. But…..
If Trump was not such an obnoxious tool he could still win easily, but because he is who he is, the election could still go either way. Plus, there’s still that pesky deep state that may not miss next time.
Paul Plante says
There’s a killer on the road, his brain is squirming like a toad as he is egged on by the DEMOCRATS and their MEDIA STOOGES to blow Trump’s **** away as they tell him over and over TRUMP IS A THREAT to their DEMOCRACY and he is going to TAKE OUR FREEDOM AWAY, so that if bad men can be got rid of only by killing, then the killing must be done!
the Lizard King says
Man.. You could be right about that. We shall see.
I think media controls Democrats rather than
visa versa
Perhaps the end is near
Paul Plante says
Newsweek
“Secret Service Sniper Demands 5 People Be Fired for Trump Shooting: Report”
Story by Katherine Fung
31 July 2024
A Secret Service counter-sniper is demanding that five “high-level supervisors” be fired in the wake of the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, warning that another attempt could come before November’s election, a leaked email says.
“This agency NEEDS to change, if not now, WHEN?” the counter-sniper wrote to the agency’s Uniformed Division, according to the email obtained by Susan Crabtree, RealClearPolitics’ White House and national political correspondent.
“The NEXT assassination attempt in 30 days?”
“Because we all SHOULD expect another attempt to happen before November.”
The email continues: “Failure is not an option, and on 7/13/24, WE failed.”
“Not because of commitment or sense of dedication.”
“But because our SUPERVISORS (aka leadership) knew better and thought our concerns were less than important.”
Paul Plante says
A historical note:
p.96, Report of House Select Committee on Assassinations, March 29, 1979.
Findings
C. The Committee believes, on the basis of the evidence available to it, that President John F. Kennedy was probably assassinated as a result of a conspiracy.
The Committee is unable to identify the other gunman or the extent of the conspiracy.
The committee conducted a three-pronged investigation of conspiracy in the Kennedy assassination.
On the basis of extensive scientific analysis and an analysis of the testimony of Dealey Plaza witnesses, the committee found there was a high probability that two gunmen fired at President Kennedy.
Jockamo Rasputin says
The mainstream media will surely neglect to report on the whistle blowing sniper.
The focus is now on the report of Trump weirdly trying to lecture a crowd of Black professionals on Race.
Where could that possibly go wrong?
WTF over?
Paul Plante says
You got it nailed!
Paul Plante says
We’re living in some dangerously STOOPID times!
Paul Plante says
What we are really being confronted with here, with all this talk from Charley “CHUCK” Schumer about “sacred democracy,” which has nothing sacred about it, and our “sacred right” to vote, is a fanatic religious cult on a national level, Jonestown on steroids, and the last time we had to deal with a fanatic religious cult on a national level, they were called National Socialists in Germany, which also was a sacred democracy.
Dangerous times, indeed, are facing us.
As to Schumer being little more than a cowardly, craven, caitiff tool, we have this background of his to consider:
GOTHAMIST by Raphael Pope-Sussman on Feb. 1, 2017:
Hundreds of New Yorkers braved freezing temperatures Tuesday night on Brooklyn’s Grand Army Plaza at a rally calling upon U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to take a firm stand against the Trump administration.
The rally was the latest in a series of weekly gatherings poetically dubbed “What the F*ck, Chuck?” outside the senator’s Brooklyn home on Prospect Park West and his offices in Midtown.
As a series of speakers stood on a platform and shouted over a mobile PA system, protesters cheered and jeered as they held signs with slogans like “Buck Up Chuck”; “Resisting Trump Is Your Primary Duty”; and “Filibuster Filibuster Filibuster.”
Hae-Lin Choi, of the Democratic Socialists of America and Resist Trump NY, took the stage first, announcing herself as an immigrant and telling the crowd why organizers had called for the protest.
“We planned this rally to Schumer’s home to help him find the spine and maybe some of the other body parts he needs to grow,” she said, citing Schumer’s early “yea” votes on Trump’s nominees to lead Defense, Homeland Security, and the Central Intelligence Agency.
Choi said organizers were encouraged by Schumer’s announcement in recent days that he would vote no on eight more nominees, but that they see this as a bare minimum and they intend to keep up the pressure.
“Senator Schumer must be bold and stand with the working class,” she cried over the loudspeaker.
“He has to champion the resistance or get out of the way and we’ll find someone that will.”
As Choi spoke, the crowd chanted, “Stand up, or get out of the way.”