OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
3:47 PM – Monday, July 15, 2024
The Secret Service claims that the rooftop where 20-year-old gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks attempted to kill former President Donald Trump was outside the perimeters that the federal agency was entrusted with guarding, while simultaneously holding local police accountable for their “failure to secure it.”
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According to Secret Service official Anthony Gugliemi, local Pennsylvania police were in charge of guarding and securing the AGR International Inc. plant grounds, which are roughly 130 yards from the platform where Trump was speaking on Saturday, as reported by the New York Times.
Local police were enlisted to help with those efforts and secure the area outside the rally, according to the Secret Service. The agency went on to reiterate that they were only assigned to guard the grounds where Trump’s rally was held.
However, neighbors close to Butler Farm Show Grounds told reporters that neither local nor federal law enforcement ever paid them a visit in the days preceding or following the rally.
“Nobody contacted me. Nobody. Nobody called me, nobody stopped here,” said Valerie Fennell, a nearby resident whose house comes close to the fairgrounds, just beyond a line of trees.
“I kinda was thinking that as close as my house is, that I honestly thought this might be part of a command station at some point,” she added.
Not only did Fennell claim that no one from law enforcement had gotten in touch with her, but she also said that, despite living so close to the rally, her entire neighborhood had been mysteriously abandoned in receiving any sort of communication.
“I was talking to my neighbors yesterday, and none of them had gotten a call. Or anything,” she continued, while her sister nodded in agreement.
“I guess it’s kind of the same question that everybody has. I guess, as far as like, why that area wasn’t secure.”
CNN reported that attendees saw 20-year-old Thomas Crooks acting strangely close to the rally metal detectors. Local police enforcement was alerted and they purportedly warned the Secret Service to be on the lookout for him over their radios.
In addition, he was said to have been observed entering the rally with a rifle outside of a security checkpoint. Later, he was allegedly seen jumping “roof to roof” before arriving at the AGR facility.
Prior to eventually reacting to reports of an armed man on the AGR roof, it appears that police were unable to locate him during the period those alerts were sent out.
According to law enforcement officials who spoke with the Associated Press, at approximately 6:10 p.m., a local police officer ascended a ladder onto the roof and confronted Crooks, who was already aiming his gun at him.
Crooks took aim and fired around eight shots at the rally as the officer retreated down the ladder. He struck Trump in the ear, critically injured two more people in the crowd, and killed bystander Corey Comperatore in the audience.
Crooks was then shot dead by Secret Service counter snipers who were positioned on a barn rooftop behind the stage in a matter of moments. It is unclear if the shooters had noticed Crooks prior to the rounds being fired, but they seemed to have their sights focused on him before starting to shoot.
The Secret Service acknowledged that it mostly relied on local law enforcement to assist with event security, stating to the Washington Post that this is “standard procedure” when seeking assistance from local organizations.
The heavily armed agents covering Trump’s evacuation, known as the Secret Service’s counter assault team, consisted of at least six officers from Butler County tactical units in addition to leaving the areas outside the rally perimeter under the jurisdiction of local police. The team consisted of only two members of the Secret Service.
Two local sniper teams supported the two teams of snipers from the Secret Service.
Although Pennsylvania police acknowledged that they often assist the Secret Service when important government figures visit the state, they doubled down and stressed that the federal agency is ultimately in charge.
“Secret Service always has the lead on securing something like this,” stated Lt. Col. George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police.
“We work with them to provide whatever is requested by the Secret Service, but they’re the lead in that security,” he added.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) announced plans to call agency director Kimberly Cheatle for a hearing on July 22nd in response to calls for an inquiry of the Secret Service and the circumstances that led Crooks to come within millimeters of almost killing Trump.
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