A new report on the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump indicates the Secret Service did not participate in a security briefing before the July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The 13-page report from Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin on preliminary findings about the incident said his requests for information from the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security and the FBI have been ignored, as was his request to preserve records related to the assassination attempt.
“The lack of transparency from federal entities regarding the July 13, 2024 assassination attempt — which left former President Trump wounded, one rally goer dead, and two other spectators critically injured — is unacceptable,” the senator wrote.
Johnson said the report was an early attempt to establish a proper version of what took place and it would be revised as new information arises.
In a post on X, Susan Crabtree of RealClearPolitics called the details in the report “frightening” and “chilling.”
🚨🚨CHILLING. Here’s the most frightening section of Sen. Ron Johnson’s initial report from his investigation — an investigation that produced many unfathomable security lapses and nonsensical security procedures.
“At approximately 6:23pm on July 13, 2024—twelve minutes after… https://t.co/uN15SXDSNF
— Susan Crabtree (@susancrabtree) July 21, 2024
The senator’s report said the Secret Service “did not attend a security briefing provided to local special weapons and tactics (SWAT) and sniper teams the morning of July 13, 2024.”
It said local SWAT teams were assigned positions and responsibilities and that the building used by Thomas Matthew Crooks to shoot Trump was outside the perimeter.
Should the head of the Secret Service resign?
“It is unclear why Secret Service did not participate in this security briefing and the extent to which ESU [the Butler County, Pennsylvania, Emergency Services Unit] coordinated with Secret Service in creating and implementing the security plan for the rally,” the report said.
Johnson’s report said that in the days leading up to the rally, local police were told the “Secret Service was not going to send their own snipers to the rally and that local law enforcement would need to go ‘sniper heavy’ in order to ensure proper coverage.”
The report said about a day before the rally, the Secret Service changed its position, but it said the reason for the change was not known.
The issue of drone flights over the venue was not discussed, the report said, although it noted reports that Crooks allegedly flew a drone over the site.
The report said that at 5:10 p.m., local police in the building that Crooks used classified him as suspicious. At 5:32 p.m., he was seen using a range finder. At 5:41 p.m., a local law enforcement officer told the command center about Crooks. A text followed four minutes later to Beaver ESU Group Command.
At 5:59 p.m., “a Beaver County law enforcement operator received confirmation from a Butler County SWAT commander that command, which included Secret Service, was made aware of the messages and requested more information about the suspect’s location,” the report said.
Crooks opened fire 12 minutes later.
1) Secret Service did not attend a security briefing provided to local special weapons and tactics (SWAT) and sniper teams the morning of July 13, 2024; pic.twitter.com/f236Y52Qfl
— Senator Ron Johnson (@SenRonJohnson) July 21, 2024
The report said information obtained by Johnson’s office “appears to confirm” that a countersniper had identified Crooks as suspicious “but raises further questions about what the Secret Service did with this information, why Secret Service did not immediately send agents to the [American Glass Research] building, and, perhaps most importantly, why former President Trump was allowed to go on stage.”
The report said that after Crooks was killed, two Beaver County, Pennsylvania, law enforcement agents accessed the roof of the AGR building and saw the would-be assassin’s body.
“During a subsequent search of Crooks, local law enforcement discovered a suspected remote triggering device,” it said. “At 6:32 p.m., 7:45 p.m., and 7:46 p.m., the Beaver County law enforcement agents took pictures of Crooks, a cellphone and the remote control device near the suspected shooter’s body.”
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle was scheduled to appear before the House Oversight Committee at 10 a.m. EST on Monday to testify about the Secret Service’s operations and preparation for the Trump rally.
