Secret Service Blames Local Police for Security Lapse in Trump Assassination Attempt
The Secret Service has blamed local police for failing to secure the rooftop from which Matthew Crooks attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump. The agency asserts that the area was outside the perimeter they were tasked with protecting.
According to a report by the New York Times, Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Gugliemi stated that their responsibility was confined to the immediate vicinity of the rally at Butler Farm Show Grounds. The adjacent areas, including the AGR International Inc. factory site from where Crooks launched his attack, fell under the jurisdiction of local law enforcement.
Residents near the venue expressed dismay over the apparent lack of security measures in the days leading up to the event. Valerie Fennell, a local homeowner, told The New York Post, “Nobody contacted me. Nobody. Nobody called me, nobody stopped here.” She added, “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. I was talking to my neighbors yesterday, and none of them had gotten a call. Or anything… I guess it’s kind of the same question that everybody has. I guess, as far as like, why that area wasn’t secure.”
New video posted to X shows would-be Trump assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks bear crawling on the roof as bystanders pointed him out to law enforcement. An officer was right next to the building as bystanders alerted him to the potential threat. After audience members pointed out that Crooks was climbing a ladder onto the roof, the officer followed and eventually confronted him. Crooks responded by pointing his gun at the officer, who retreated down the ladder before Crooks fired a shot at Trump.
A report by NBC News revealed that the Secret Service identified the rooftop next to Trump’s event in Butler, Pennsylvania, as a security vulnerability days before the rally. However, agents failed to secure the building, allowing a man with a rifle to climb up to the roof, position his scope, and fire several shots at President Trump. A bullet grazed Trump’s right ear, two rally attendees were wounded, and one Trump supporter was fatally shot.