Trump assassination attempt: Watchdog flags Secret Service’s 102 missed radio calls at 2024 Butler rally
Jasper Ward
WASHINGTON, July 2 (Reuters) – The U.S. Secret Service did not receive 102 local radio broadcasts related to a gunman trying to assassinate the president. Donald Trump at a 2024 campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, according to a report released Thursday by a government watchdog.
The agency was unaware of the July 13, 2024, transmission because it failed to establish a joint communications room with local law enforcement, which was receiving reports of searches for suspicious persons later determined to be thomas crooksAccording to a report by the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general.
“Instead, we found that the Secret Service received only five phone calls and three text messages about Crooks,” the report states.
“As a result, Secret Service members did not alert President Trump’s protective staff to concerns about suspicious persons.”
Crooks was shot and killed by law enforcement officers at the rally, firing the gun while Trump was speaking from the stage. A bullet grazed the ear, killing one bystander and injuring others, including Trump.
Crooks gained access to a nearby rooftop with direct view of Trump.
Recommendations in the inspector general’s report cover areas such as information sharing and addressing “line of sight vulnerabilities” before incidents occur.
The Secret Service said in a statement that it agreed with the inspector general’s recommendations.
“Many of these recommendations have been identified… and have been implemented as part of our ongoing reform efforts,” a spokesman said.
The report found that Crooks flew a drone over the area hours before the shooting. The flight was not detected because the Secret Service’s counter-drone system was inoperable, the statement said.
According to the inspector general, the counter-drone system was operated by an “ill-trained” operator who failed to test it before the event.
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The report states that operators spent several hours trying to resolve the issue, during which time the suspect conducted a nearly nine-minute drone flight without being detected.
Thursday’s report is the latest in a series of investigations by government regulators and congressional panels that have uncovered significant flaws in the Secret Service’s security arrangements for the event.
(Reporting by Jasper Ward in Washington; Editing by Ross Colvin, Donna Bryson and Rod Nickell)
