Law enforcement officers at the Butler, Pennsylvania, rally where Donald Trump was shot were warned of the presence of a suspicious individual more than 90 minutes before the shooting occurred. The revelations came after investigators examined texts exchanged between officers on the day and obtained by the New York Times. The messages also reveal that one of the snipers assigned to protect Trump did not have the cell phone number of his command post and therefore relied on another officer to relay information about the suspicious individual – who was later confirmed to be the shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks.
Investigations are ongoing, and Donald Trump has confirmed that he will sit down with FBI agents to discuss what he remembers about the incident. FBI Special Agent Kevin Rojek said this is normal and will be a “standard victim interview.”
FBI representatives updated on their investigation on July 29 and said that Crooks, a 20-year-old Pennsylvania native, had carefully planned the assassination attempt of the former President. The pre-planning activities included purchasing several components for explosive devices and “making significant efforts” to conceal his activities from others, including his family.
The Secret Service came under fire for “security breaches” that allowed Crooks to gain a clear view of Donald Trump from around 200 yards away. Director Kimberley Cheatle was summoned to Congress to answer for the failures, and while she accepted responsibility, she initially resisted calls for her resignation. However, she announced she would step down the day after her Congressional grilling.
Donald Trump called for an internal Secret Service investigation, and conspiracy theories immediately appeared online. Some people believed that Trump staged the incident so he could portray himself as a heroic survivor, while others thought President Biden arranged it to eliminate his Presidential election rival.
Speculation about the attempted assassination intensified when witnesses said they saw Crooks climbing onto a nearby building, and officers on the scene did nothing to stop him. Witness Greg Smith said he could see that the man on the roof had a rifle, but added, “the police did not know what was going on.”
