More details about the bungled security setup at Donald Trump's recent rally in Butler, Penn., have emerged to suggest that Secret Service stood down and did nothing after being notified that there was an individual with a weapon perched atop the American Glass Research facility just 150 years away from where Trump was speaking.
"KanekoaTheGreat" (@KanekoaTheGreat) tweeted on X that the police officer who confronted shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, on the roof immediately radioed a "blanket tactical channel" that there was "an individual on the roof with a weapon." This all happened minutes before Crooks started firing shots at Trump.
The notification to the blanket tactical channel should have alerted everyone on site, including both local law enforcement and Secret Service, that something suspicious was happening, so why did nobody respond by at least getting Trump out of harm's way?
Instead of responding to the call by immediately taking action, both local police and Secret Service stood by and did nothing until Crooks started firing.
We know that two police officers went to the lowest point of the American Glass Research building where one boosted the other onto the roof, where he saw Crooks holding a weapon. Crooks saw the officer and pointed his weapon at him, prompting the officer to duck and fall off the roof.
"The boosting officer and the officer that fell were both on the radio indicating that there was an individual on the roof that did, in fact, have a weapon," reports explain. "There was a blanket tactical channel being used. Everyone who was on that tactical channel heard it."
The officer who confronted Thomas Matthew Crooks on the roof radioed a "blanket tactical channel" that there was "an individual on the roof with a weapon" before the assassination attempt on President Trump.
Why wasn't President Trump immediately evacuated?
Was the Secret… pic.twitter.com/c2J0KlQEwF
— KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) July 17, 2024
(Related: There are some good things about Trump's "Trumponomics" plan for America, but also some questionable things.)
Secret Service has a lot of 'splainin' to do
It is still unknown precisely how much time passed between when the first radio communication about suspicious rooftop activity was made and when the first shot was fired at Trump. It would seem that there was plenty of time to do something regardless, though nothing was done.
"It's bad enough that the Secret Service didn't put anyone on the most obvious roof 150 yards away," KanekoaTheGreat tweeted. "But after two police officers radioed in that there was a guy on the roof with a gun, why wasn't President Trump immediately evacuated?"
So far, Secret Service has yet to provide a logical or reasonable answer as to why its agents apparently stood by and did nothing while Crooks got into position and started firing. What are they hiding?
"At some point when multiple massive unprecedented security failures after security failures occur back-to-back that people get understandably suspicious," wrote "Craig Chamberlin" (@CraigChamberlin) on X.
The complete inability for a reasonable explanation from Secret Service fans the flames of suspicion even more."
Dan Bongino reported that Secret Service did not provide Trump with the security detail he requested, failing to bring in enough manpower to handle the event as it was supposed to be handled.
"There were so many 'mistakes' that day that it makes you wonder if those 'mistakes' were intentional," speculated "The Vigilant Fox" (@VigilantFox).
Another added that the moment that broadcast came over the blanket tactical channel, Secret Service "should have charged that stage" and protected Trump from harm.
"That's the reason they use channels like that in the first place," this person added.
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