Tag: secret service

The Secret Service blamed local police for failing to secure the rooftop from which gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump, insisting it was outside the perimeter the federal agency was tasked with protecting.

Instead, securing and patrolling the factory grounds of AGR International Inc. — located about 130 yards from the stage where Trump was speaking Saturday — was the responsibility of local Pennsylvania police, Secret Service representative Anthony Gugliemi said, according to the New York Times.

The Secret Service was only tasked with covering the grounds where Trump’s rally took place, with local police being recruited to assist with those efforts and secure the area outside the rally.

But neighbors living near Butler Farm Show Grounds told The Post they were never visited by any law enforcement agencies — local or federal — in the days before or during the rally.

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In the wake of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, there are widespread concerns and questions about how a sniper was able to obtain rooftop access roughly 150 meters from the former president’s position at the podium at an outdoor rally.

Sources have described the shooting as coming from the “three o’clock” position of Trump’s podium location, with shots coming from his right side. Seconds after gunfire rang out, Secret Service counter-assault snipers began shooting the suspect who was found on top of a roof.

Notably, the shooter’s location was outside the security perimeter, raising questions about both the size of the perimeter and efforts to sweep and secure the American Glass Research building, and how the shooter was able to obtain rooftop access.

President Joe Biden said Sunday he has directed US Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle “to review all security measures – all security measures – for the Republican National Convention.”

“I’ve directed an independent review of the national security at yesterday’s rally to assess exactly what happened. And I’ll share the results of that independent review with the American people,” Biden said.

Law enforcement sources say that part of the aftermath will include a review of whether the Secret Service had enough assets to protect Trump days ahead of officially becoming the Republican presidential nominee and whether procedures were followed to conduct security sweeps of the building that offered a vantage point for the alleged shooter.

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The attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday has led to widespread criticism of the Secret Service, which is tasked with protecting current and former U.S. presidents and presidential candidates. Observers have pointed out glaring errors in the protection of President Trump. The fact that he was so shot by a sniper from a distance of only 130 meters, from an easily visible and obvious position, highlights significant security failures. Mainstream media outlets are conducting interviews and publishing analyses of the various failures of the Secret Service in this incident. This article amalgamates the numerous failures outlined by experts and reported by multiple media sources.

Rooftop Security Lapses

A significant failure was the shooter’s ability to access the rooftop of the American Glass Research building, just 130 meters (140 yards) from where Trump was speaking. The U.S. Army’s primary manual on physical and executive security, FM 3-19.30 (formerly FM 19-30), outlines critical steps that were overlooked in this case. These include conducting a thorough tactical analysis to identify strategic points and potential threat areas, and performing detailed reconnaissance to gather real-time information through site surveys and intelligence resources. Ignoring these essential procedures likely contributed to the security breach that allowed the shooter to position himself with a clear line of sight to the former president. Furthermore, despite the presence of Secret Service counter-sniper teams, the shooter managed to open fire before being neutralized. This shows a major lapse in the advance security sweeps and the failure to eliminate sight lines to the stage.

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Former Navy Seal and Blackwater founder Erik Prince gave a detailed assessment of yesterday’s Secret Service debacle in the wake of a failed assassination attempt on former President Trump.

“Hopefully after the tragedy yesterday in Butler PA we can all recognize that unaccountable bloated bureaucracies continue to fail us as Americans,” Prince posted to X.

Continued (emphasis ours):

Donald J Trump is alive today solely due to a bad wind estimate by an evil would be assasin [sic].

As the graphics show the full value wind of just 5mph was enough to displace the unconfirmed but likely light 55 grain bullet two inches from DJT’s intended forehead to his ear.

DJT was not saved by USSS brilliance. The fact that USSS allowed a rifle armed shooter within 150yds to a preplanned event is either malice or massive incompetence. Clearly there was adequate uncontrolled dead space for a shooter to move into position and take multiple aimed shots. Watching the newsreel one can hear how proximate the shooter is by the very short time lapse between the crack of arriving bullet (supersonic) to the boom of muzzle blast (sonic).  

The law enforcement sniper (unclear if USSS) in newsreels was clearly overwhelmed as his face came off his rifle instead of doing his job to kill the shooter. Clearly they were watching the shooter but apparently have a no “first shot” policy.  The only positive action was an apparent 488yd shot by one USSS sniper which despatched the assasin but after the assassin launched at least 5 rounds, wounding DJT and killing and severely others in the crowd.

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House Republicans are demanding answers from the Secret Service surrounding its massive security failure that allowed the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump to occur on Saturday.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) called on U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to testify at a hearing on Monday, July 22, to answer for the agency’s failure to prevent the attempt on Trump’s life.

“I have already contacted the Secret Service for a briefing and am also calling on Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to appear for a hearing,” Comer wrote on X Sunday.

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President Trump was shot at during a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday. Trump grabbed his neck after he was hit and pumped his fist as the Secret Service helped him walk away to the ambulance.

New photos have emerged allegedly showing the deceased shooter on a rooftop adjacent to the president’s podium. He was reportedly situated to the right side of Trump when he shot 8-10 bullets toward the rally.

Things do not add up, however, as video footage from the rally clearly shows what looks like two Secret Service agents standing watch on the Rooftop directly adjacent to where the shooter allegedly fired from.

The live video feed, broadcast by RSBN, shows Trump being introduced at the rally at 6:04 PM EST. Two agents can be clearly seen standing on the rooftop behind him on the same side he was shot. Furthermore, their rooftop was higher elevation than the shooter’s. How did they miss him?

What is the deal here?!

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