After congressional requests, released bodycam footage confirmed a key detail about what the U.S. Secret Service knew before the attempt on former President Donald Trump’s life.
Tuesday evening, following the resignation of USSS Director Kimberly Cheatle, Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley (R) published a video that showed law enforcement officials conferring on what was known less than an hour after shots had been fired at the July 13 Trump rally.
Of note was verification that the suspect, the blurred-out Thomas Crooks seen with a trail of blood flowing away from his body, had in fact been spotted by officials before the assassination attempt and that pictures had been taken and shared throughout the security detail of the suspect.
“So this is the guy,” said a man appearing to be a member of the Secret Service to whom a Beaver County Emergency Service Unit officer replied in part, “This is him.”
Coordinating on known details about a bike located near the AGR building from which the would-be assassin fired and two people who had been filming the response from law enforcement being detained, the BCESU officer explained, “That’s the sniper that sent the original picture and seen him come from the bike and set the book bag down and then lost sight of him.”
Warning: Graphic
JUST IN: Bodycam footage released by Senator Chuck Grassley from the Trump Pennsylvania rally on July 13th.
The video was obtained from the Beaver County Emergency Services Unit.
In the footage, the men were discussing how they had noticed Thomas Crooks earlier before the… pic.twitter.com/KQErF69xk5
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) July 23, 2024
Additional video obtained by Fox News from rally-goer Jon Malice showed that the would-be assassin opened fire before countersnipers neutralized the threat.
(Video Credit: Fox News)
“I noticed about two minutes before the shooting started, the people were starting to say, ‘Hey, he’s climbing up here, he’s crawling around, he’s doing this, he’s doing that,” Malice told Fox News. “We just kind of ignored it because we thought it was some person trying to get a better view.”
He also remarked on the apparent lack of security at the perimeter of the venue as he said, “One of the first things I noticed when we walked up, none of us have been vetted. We’re all along the fence. We all have a view of the stage. We can see Trump.”
In a statement accompanying the release of the video, Grassley remarked, “For the past 10 days, questions have only been building regarding the catastrophic security failure that occurred on July 13. Federal agencies, particularly the Secret Service, have failed to be transparent with the American people.”
“This assassination attempt is a matter of substantial public interest, and the public’s business ought to be public,” he continued. “I’m releasing these records as part of my efforts to get answers and hold agencies accountable.”
The ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee also sent a letter to the USSS and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas seeking clarity on the use of drones on the day of the rally, the measures taken by the USSS to secure the area, and who was actually responsible for covering the roof on the day of the tragedy.
“Is this document accurate?” asked Grassley concerning an attached map that showed the AGR building was not included in the displayed breakdown of responsibilities.
NEW My office has obtained docs from law enforcement on July 13 assassination attempt of Pres Trump I’m writing Secret Service Acting Dir Rowe & DHS Scty Mayorkas AGAIN 2get badly needed answers/clarity pic.twitter.com/LyQMzYGCkD
— Chuck Grassley (@ChuckGrassley) July 23, 2024
He also presented a question about another structure that would have had a line of sight on the would-be assassin as well as the rally, “Was the water tower cleared in advance of the rally? Did the water tower have any role in the events at the Trump rally?”
It was reported previously that a bipartisan group of lawmakers from the House Homeland Security Committee had toured the grounds on Monday and Tennessee Rep. Mark Green (R), the committee chair, had told the press that local law enforcement had been kept out of the USSS command center.
“Normally, the local law enforcement guys are allowed to sit in the Secret Service… control room where the leadership sits and monitors the actions,” said Green. “Today, the locals shared with us that they were not allowed to have anybody in there.”
Local cops shut out of ‘command center’ on day Trump was shot https://t.co/LVIV0eXUoS
— American Wire News (@americanwire_) July 23, 2024
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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