A newly released Department of Homeland Security inspector general’s report has uncovered a series of major Secret Service failures that allowed President Donald Trump’s would-be assassin to reach a rooftop overlooking his Butler, Pennsylvania, campaign rally before opening fire. Among the most striking revelations is that, as local police urgently reported the gunman’s location, a Secret Service counter-drone operator was searching the internet to determine where the rooftop was instead of immediately obtaining the information from officers on the scene.

The 64-page report concludes that the Secret Service “missed multiple opportunities to detect, prevent, and disrupt” Thomas Crooks’ assassination attempt. Investigators found repeated breakdowns in communication that prevented the agents assigned to protect Trump from ever learning that an armed suspect had climbed onto the roof of the American Glass Research International (AGR) complex, located just 155 yards from the stage.

According to the report, local law enforcement contacted the Secret Service and Pennsylvania State Police communications center at 6:09 p.m., warning that a suspicious individual had been spotted on the roof of the AGR building.

Investigators found that neither the Secret Service communications supervisor nor the agency’s counter-drone operator requested the location of the AGR complex after receiving the warning. The report states they “did not ask for the AGR complex’s location …. did not immediately identify it as a risk.” It further notes that the communications supervisor “did not even ‘recall learning that the suspicious person was on the roof'” because he had “delegated communications about the suspicious person to the counter drone operator because it was a ‘busy time’ on Secret Service radios and the counter drone operator was sitting near him and offered to help.”

Rather than immediately asking local officers where the building was located in relation to the rally site, the counter-drone operator instead attempted to locate it online.

“Instead of asking local law enforcement personnel for the AGR complex’s location, the counter drone operator searched online for it, and was still searching when Crooks fired his first shots,” the report determined.

Just two minutes after the initial warning—at approximately 6:11 p.m.—Crooks fired eight rounds toward the stage, grazing President Trump’s ear, killing one rally attendee, and wounding several others.

Investigators concluded that despite mounting concern among local officers beginning well before the shooting, the Secret Service failed to recognize the urgency of the threat.

“Ultimately, although members of the local law enforcement communications room were increasingly concerned by the presence of a suspicious individual as early as 5:42 p.m.,” the report continued, “Secret Service communications room personnel did not identify Crooks as an urgent threat before he fired shots.

“Moreover, Secret Service decision-makers responsible for protecting President Trump while on stage at the Butler event were not made aware of Crooks’ presence at any time.”

The report also faults the Secret Service for failing to establish a joint communications center with local law enforcement. Because of that decision, 102 radio transmissions concerning the suspicious individual never reached Secret Service personnel.

Among the messages that went unheard was a 5:42 p.m. transmission from local officers reporting, “we had a younger white male long hair lurking around the AGR building, he was viewed with a rangefinder sighting the stage … we lost sight of him.”

As the situation intensified, local officers continued broadcasting increasingly urgent warnings that likewise never reached the agents protecting the president.

“I have someone on the roof with white shorts,” one officer radioed at 6:08 p.m.

Moments later, another transmission warned, “He’s armed, I saw him. He’s laying down,” followed immediately by, “You need to deploy to the AGR building … male on the roof with a long gun. Shots fired!”

Instead of receiving those radio alerts, the Secret Service was informed about Crooks through only five telephone calls and three text messages, according to investigators.

“As a result, Secret Service members did not alert President Trump’s protective detail about concerns of a suspicious person,” the report concluded.

The investigation also revealed that Trump’s campaign staff rejected an earlier Secret Service proposal to position large trucks between the AGR building and the rally stage because the vehicles would interfere with television camera angles.

“On July 12, 2024 … the site agent counterpart told us she proposed placing the trucks between the AGR complex and the stage, but protectee staff denied the request because the trucks would be ‘too close to [President Trump’s] press shot,’” the DHS report found.

“The site agent counterpart then proposed moving the trucks to a nearby location instead, which would block line of sight from a different area; protectee staff agreed.”

Crooks was ultimately shot and killed by law enforcement officers moments after opening fire on President Trump and the crowd.

{Matzav.com}