Posted on 07/20/2024 12:28:14 AM PDT by John Semmens
At 6:11 on Saturday, July 13 former President Donald Trump narrowly escaped assassination while giving a campaign speech in Butler, Pennsylvania. This near murder of the Republican nominee for president was preceded by a series of questionable decisions made by the Secret Service.
No Drones
Inasmuch as drones are often used for this type of outdoor political event, Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle was asked why they weren't used this time. Her reply was "we determined that the risk from that rooftop was mitigated by counter-snipers." However, the counter-snipers were on a shorter building and could not see a potential assassin sneaking up the back slope of the taller building he chose for his attack.
A-Team Diverted
The Secret Service squad that had previously guarded Trump was diverted to cover a campaign appearance by Jill Biden elsewhere in Pennsylvania. A replacement squad of "supplemental special agents" from the Pittsburgh office were assigned to the Trump event. Cheatle justified the switch, saying that "as the nation's First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden's safety takes priority over that of a private citizen running for office."
Unguarded Sniper Perch
The roof of the American Glass Research (AGR) building from which shots were fired at Trump by Thomas Matthew Crooks was left unguarded. Cheatle explained that "since we didn't have enough agents to cover the event that particular roof was within the perimeter assigned to local police. Even if we had enough agents we could not have placed one in that location because the sloped roof was considered too hazardous." When she was reminded that the agents who killed the would-be assassin fired from a different sloped roof, she said "we are looking into that to see if disciplinary actions need to be taken against those agents."
Encounters with Crooks
Crooks' behavior was tabbed as suspicious several hours before he fired his shots. A "range finder" (a device hunters and snipers use to adjust their weapon for the distance to their intended target) he was carrying tripped metal detectors when he entered the grounds of the event. He was allowed in with this device.
About one hour before shots were fired, Crooks was spotted suspiciously lurking near the AGR building he would later shoot from. No action was taken to interdict or maintain surveillance of him
About 10 minutes before shots were fired, Crooks was identified as a threat by Secret Service agents. No action was taken because "rules of engagement" do not allow the agents to fire first. Instead, they allowed Trump to walk onto the stage. Crooks was allowed to climb to his perch on the roof. A local police officer climbed to the roof but backed away when Crooks pointed his rifle at him.
At 6:11 pm Crooks got off several shots. One grazed Trump in his right ear. Others killed one audience member and seriously wound two others. Then Secret Service agents fired from their perch on a sloped roof of a building behind the podium to shoot and kill Crooks.
Cheatle Takes Full Responsibility
Secret Service Director Cheatle acknowledged that "crucial errors were made and I take full responsibility." She rebuffed demands that she resign, saying that "all's well that ends well. While the job could've been done better we must not lose sight of the fact that the assassin was thwarted. The DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) hires the agency has made under my leadership did well enough to vindicate the success of the program."
Despite saying that "a direct line of sight like that to the former president should not occur," Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas declared "I have 100% confidence in Director Cheatle and the people under her command."
In related news, just as the shots at him were fired Trump had turned his head to read some immigration statistics. The path of the bullet that clipped his ear would've penetrated the side of his skull if he hadn't made this slight movement. Trump later reported that "I was having a conversation with fellow presidential candidate RFK, Jr. when I received a phone call from President Biden who expressed his relief that I survived and how narrow the miss was. He asked me, 'why did you turn your head at exactly the right moment?' I told him 'God saved my life.'"
If you missed any of the other Semi-News/Semi-Satire posts you can find them at...
https://www.freedomsphoenix.com/Opinion/365657-2024-07-20-semi-news-semi-satire-july-21-2024-edition.htm
ping
I’m guessing that the satire portion was Director Cheatle said “The DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) hires the agency has made under my leadership did well enough to vindicate the success of the program.”
Or she just kept that opinion to herself.
LOL——Despite saying that “a direct line of sight like that to the former president should not occur,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas declared “I have 100% confidence in Director Cheatle and the people under her command.”
This portion bothers me as I've been thinking about it since this event happened, ignoring the fact that that isn't supposed to be what happens with SS protection.
What bothers me is... say I'm sitting in my home (and I have weapons but many don't) and I see someone approaching my door with a gun and trying to beat their way into the house. I call 911 (and of course I'm now armed but many aren't) and the police are on their way. He continues to try to enter the doorway and the police arrive. They pull their guns BUT DON'T shoot. He enters, now apparently they will only shoot him IF HE SHOOTS ME, MAYBE!!! Now if he turns and faces them with the gun they may likely shoot him but... I can't even expect safety from the police unless or until I've been shot. I'm thinking it is time to revisit these "rules of engagement" to disable a person who is a threat to others using whatever means period.
Now he is going down as soon as he breaches my doorway no matter what and I'm sure there will be no consequences based on my state's laws but for the unarmed citizen the outcome could be very different.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.