One of the most disturbing things about the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump is how, on an almost daily basis, we learn new details about the extent of the security failures surrounding the event.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the gunman who attempted to kill Donald Trump managed to fly a drone and capture aerial footage of the western Pennsylvania fairgrounds shortly before the former president was scheduled to speak there. This is the latest disturbing development from law enforcement officials briefed on the incident.
Thomas Matthew Crooks flew the drone on a programmed flight path earlier in the day on July 13 to scour the Butler Farm Show grounds ahead of Trump’s ill-fated rally, the officials said. The predetermined path, the officials added, suggests Crooks flew the drone more than once as he researched and scoped out the event site.
The 20-year-old would-be assassin fired at least six rounds from the roof of the American Glass Research building roughly 400 feet away from where Trump spoke, killing one spectator, critically injuring two others and leaving Trump with a graze wound to the ear. A Secret Service sniper team shot back, killing Crooks, whose motive remains a mystery.
Multiple investigations are under way into how a gunman was able to climb onto a rooftop with a clear line of sight to Trump and open fire with an AR-15 rifle. Police had become suspicious of Crooks more than an hour earlier, when officers saw him milling about the edges of the rally with a range finder and a backpack.
The use of the drone was just one way in which authorities have said Crooks planned his attack. Crooks, described by friends as very smart yet withdrawn, began researching the site shortly after the Trump campaign announced the rally on July 3, and registered for the event on July 7, officials said. He visited the farm show grounds a few days later to scope it out.
Officials say that on the day of the shooting, Crooks returned to the site with two homemade bombs equipped with remote control receivers, similar to those used for fireworks. Investigators found these explosives in his car near the grounds, along with a ballistic vest containing three 30-round magazines, suggesting a potential plan for greater violence.
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How seriously bad is this lapse? Well, in response to the initial report, Donald Trump Jr. reported on X/Twitter that he was once prevented from flying his own drone at Mar-a-Lago.
Just to underscore how crazy this all is, I was once prevented flying MY OWN drone off of the beach at Mar-a-Lago by USSS because my father was inside the house…
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 20, 2024
Now we have one literally scouting his speech!!! 🤬 https://t.co/M3BAENqT4f
According to Bill Melugin of Fox News, a federal law enforcement source revealed that the security for Trump’s rally in Butler, PA, included 22 Secret Service agents and 16 Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents, yet there was no Secret Service drone in the air. The Secret Service did not request tactical support from HSI, including its elite Special Response team. HSI agents were assigned to security duties at the street entrance and media area, not in close proximity to Trump or the surrounding buildings. The entire security plan was created and executed by the Secret Service, which directed HSI and local law enforcement on personnel placement and was responsible for the advance planning.
He explained more in a post on X/Twitter.
Per source, allegations that HSI agents were untrained or unprepared to provide security at this event are way off base - adding that HSI are highly trained federal law enforcement who routinely run complex investigations, often at the border. Source added that HSI had roughly 400 agents providing security at the RNC in Milwaukee, and they know what threats to look for, adding that HSI agents working perimeter surveillance at the RNC were involved in spotting and arresting a suspicious man on Monday who approached the secure RNC area with a bag that had a AK47 pistol, a full magazine, and a Scream mask in it.
A lot of finger pointing going on as a result of the security failure on Saturday, which was centimeters away from resulting in the assassination of former President Trump, live on national television.
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