Posted on 07/19/2024 9:22:29 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
It keeps getting worse: Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, who attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania, reportedly flew a drone over the rally area shortly before he executed his attack. Crooks scaled a rooftop unmolested, despite scores of attendees watching him army crawl on the roof, which was left unprotected by the Secret Service, as he lined up to take shots at Trump.
The roof was less than 200 yards from the stage. Donald Trump Jr. responded to this update tweeting, "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" (via WSJ):
WSJ, breaking: “The gunman who tried to kill Donald Trump was able to fly a drone and get aerial footage of the western Pennsylvania fairgrounds shortly before the former president was set to speak there, law-enforcement officials briefed on the matter said, further underscoring…— Josh Kraushaar (@JoshKraushaar) July 19, 2024
A gunman who tried to kill Donald Trump was able to fly a drone and get aerial footage of the western Pennsylvania fairgrounds shortly before the former president was set to speak there, law-enforcement officials briefed on the matter said, further underscoring the stunning security lapses ahead of Trump’s near assassination.
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.
FOX NEWS ALERT: ‘Trump gunman flew drone over rally site hours before event,’ reports WSJ.
“Unbelievable. There are growing questions for the Secret Service Director - this is getting worse by the day,” says @IngrahamAngle with reaction from @MarshaBlackburn. pic.twitter.com/0YjLudtOJn— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) July 20, 2024
Why the Secret Service left the rooftop unprotected remains the predominant issue, especially since it was flagged as a security vulnerability. There were snipers in the adjacent building at the time of the attack, with another Secret Service sniper team having their sights on Crooks two minutes before he fired the first shot. Yet, even before the rally, the Secret Service was informed that there was a credible threat against Trump’s life 10 minutes before he took the stage but allowed him to proceed anyway.
Trump was the target of an Iranian assassination plot, so he was given increased security, and this shooting still occurred. Trump missed a fatal headshot by millimeters. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) revealed today that most of Trump’s security detail weren’t even Secret Service agents. There is a mountain of questions that need answers. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle should be prepared to be grilled when he testified before the House Oversight Committee on Monday.
Authorities spotted crooks over an hour before he scaled the roof, being caught scouting the location with a rangefinder. It's a security failure worthy of Cheatle's resignation, but she has the protection of Jill Biden, who reportedly pushed for her to get the job.
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…
Now we have one literally scouting his speech!!! 🤬 https://t.co/M3BAENqT4f— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 20, 2024
UPDATE: What a mess via Bill Melugin:
NEW: Per federal law enforcement source w/ knowledge of the security planning for Trump’s Butler, PA rally, the event was staffed by 22 Secret Service agents, including advance, assault, and sniper teams, 16 HSI agents, and it is believed there was no SS drone in the air.
Per…— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) July 19, 2024
Per federal law enforcement source w/ knowledge of the security planning for Trump’s Butler, PA rally, the event was staffed by 22 Secret Service agents, including advance, assault, and sniper teams, 16 HSI agents, and it is believed there was no SS drone in the air.
Per source, Secret Service did not request any tactical support from HSI (Homeland Security Investigations) beforehand, including the HSI elite Special Response team. HSI agents were assigned to “post standing” security duties at the street entrance and the media area, and were not responsible for the close proximity around Trump, or the buildings on the exterior of the area where the shooter was.
The entire operational security plan was created and carried out by Secret Service, which told HSI and local law enforcement where they needed bodies, and was responsible for the advance planning.
A 20 year old had a drone and the secret service, with a budget of $3.6 billion, did not. https://t.co/RB3O2lXhbl— Rosie Memos (@almostjingo) July 19, 2024
It is my speculation that before the crowds arrived at the fairgrounds, the Secret Service used metal detectors to scan the area for guns, pipe bombs, and weapons. They knew that it was possible for someone to bypass the screening process by hiding weapons in advance.
I think they found Crooks’ AR-15 under a pile of grass near the area where he would climb up to the roof. That told SS that an assassination was planned. For them, it was a golden opportunity to have some assassin carry out the killing the Biden Regime wanted to happen.
But they want you to understand not a single mistake was made on January 6
Senator Chuck Schumer did Warren Trump that he had upset the intelligence community and that they would get even with him.
The Democrats are smart enough to never say no to the CIA or NSA.
McGovern is extremely pessimistic the truth will be revealed.
watched this the day before Crowdstrike knocked out a large part of the world.
7mins to 31mins - Seth Rich/Crowdstrike/Hillary/Comey, etc:
1 hour: Ray McGovern on the Failed Assassination of Donald Trump
4 days ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOyKXbhzU-8
How about the fact that the FIB, SS nor the local popo have not held any press conference in 5 days. WTF
The drone was found in his car.
Those two guys didn’t fire a shot.
The S.S. was right to prevent DTjr from flying his drone - which enemy operatives might have been able to coopt, downloading aerial images, etc.
DTjr shouldn't complain about that (though he is probably justified in criticizing the handling of this case).
Regards,
"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.
I counted a total of eight shots (six by Crooks and two by the SS), which confirms the above report.
well i have to say blackrock keeps popping up . When the assassination attempt first happened I predicted it had to do with Ukraine and what Trump would do there. You have massive contracts with blackrock to rebuild in Ukraine after the war. It occurs to me events surrounding Ukraine are the most likely to become desperate.
Save
That view of the SS snipers you see in the photo may have been taken before Crooks even shot his weapon. I believe that by the proximity of the heard shots, the SS took the last two of the shots I heard. Once they took their shots, there were no more from Crooks. They had shot him dead.
Trump was shot from a window behind the patsy
It has a 12ft elevation and unobstructed view and the angle makes more sense
Unbelievable. Every employee of the US government should be accountable to Congress. Congress should not be told to subordinate to employees.
This is what worries.
Ask yourself, if it were Biden's rally, would it not have been covered?
The Prosecutor rests your Honor.
I’ve long since come to the conclusion there was complicity.
Its the only explanation that makes sense. It also fits the Fed’s/Deep State’s pattern of behavior - AND - was in their interests.
My only questions at this point are whether or not some top Democrats and RINOs knew about it. I suspect they did. The massive shorts against Trump suggest they couldn’t resist the chance to profit from it......oh by the way.....why was Mike Pompeo telling everyone he would be the VP pick?
That second group of shots sounds completely different.
Listen to the first three. Crack thump Crack thump, Crack thump.
OK. I can believe that was an AR-15 from 125 yards away.
But then the next 5-6 shots......WTF was that? Sounded like a completely different weapon. The echo sounded very different (indicating it was taken from a different range) also.
Then a second or two later shot #9 which was the police/SS counter sniper.
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