Nearly two years have passed since the assassination attempt on U.S. President Donald Trump, then the Republican presidential candidate, at a rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania. Now, a new report by the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general reveals that the Secret Service did not receive 102 reports about the gunman.
According to the report, released Thursday, the agency was unaware of radio transmissions received on the day of the rally, July 13, 2024, because it had failed to establish a joint communications room with local law enforcement. Local authorities had received reports about the search for a “suspicious person,” later identified as Thomas Crooks, who ultimately opened fire.
The assassination attempt, July 2024: Gunshots ring out as Trump ducks
(Video: from CNN)
“Instead, we found that the Secret Service received only five phone calls and three text messages about Crooks,” the report said. “As a result, Secret Service members did not alert President Trump’s protective detail about concerns of a suspicious person.”
The report also found that Crooks flew a drone over the area hours before the shooting. The flight went undetected because the Secret Service’s counter-drone system was not working. The system was staffed by a single “under-trained” operator who had not tested it before the event.
The operator needed hours to try to fix the problem, the report said. During that time, Crooks carried out his nearly nine-minute drone flight without being detected.
The shooting scene and the roof Crooks climbed onto
(Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid)
The report is the latest in a series of investigations by government watchdogs and congressional panels that have identified major shortcomings in the Secret Service’s security arrangements for the event.
Crooks, who was shot and killed by law enforcement at the rally, opened fire while Trump was speaking on stage. A bystander was killed and others were wounded, including Trump, whose right ear was grazed by a bullet. Crooks had gained access to a nearby rooftop with a direct line of sight to Trump.
The inspector general’s recommendations covered areas including information sharing and addressing “line of sight vulnerabilities” ahead of events. The Secret Service said in response that it agreed with the recommendations.
“Many of these recommendations were already identified and have since been implemented as part of our ongoing reform efforts,” a spokesperson said.
Shooting outside the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner
(Video: from Truth)
The Butler shooting was not the last apparent assassination attempt involving Trump. Two months later, 50 days before the election, another attempt was thwarted when the Secret Service opened fire at an armed man spotted near Trump as he played at his golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida.
In February, the Secret Service killed an armed man who drove his vehicle into the security perimeter at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. Trump and his wife, Melania, were staying at the White House in Washington that weekend, so they were not in danger.
In April, Trump, his wife and senior administration officials were evacuated from the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner at a Washington hotel after an armed man opened fire at a Secret Service agent outside the venue. The man, armed with a shotgun, tried to breach the event’s security perimeter and was neutralized.