The blame game begins.
The Secret Service has accused local police of failing to protect the rooftop where Matthew Crooks attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump. The agency insists the area is outside the area they are responsible for protecting.
According to the New York Times, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi claimed that their responsibility was limited to the vicinity of the rally at the Butler Farm Showgrounds.
The immediate area, including the site of the AGR International Inc. plant where Crooks launched his attack, falls under the jurisdiction of local law enforcement.
Residents near the venue expressed frustration at the apparent lack of security measures in the days leading up to the event.
Valerie Fennell, a local homeowner, told the New York Post, “No one has contacted me. No one. No one has called me, no one has stopped here.
“I kind of thought, even though my house is so close to me, I honestly thought this might have been part of a command post at some point,” she said, adding, “I talked to my neighbors yesterday and they all Didn’t get a call. Or anything…I guess everyone has the same question, why is that area unsafe.
New video posted on X shows would-be Trump assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks crawling on a rooftop as bystanders pointed him out to law enforcement.
An officer was next to the building and bystanders alerted him to the potential threat.
After viewers pointed out to local law enforcement that Crooks was climbing a ladder to the roof of the building, police followed and eventually confronted the would-be assassin.
Crooks responded by pointing his gun at the officer. The man in blue stepped back from the ladder, and Crooks immediately fired a shot at Trump.
A new report from NBC News reveals that the Secret Service identified a rooftop next to Trump’s event in Butler, Pa., as a security breach days before the rally.
Agents failed to secure the building, so a man with a rifle climbed onto the roof, adjusted his scope and fired several shots at President Trump.
A bullet grazed Trump’s right ear. Two rally attendees were injured. A Trump supporter was shot and killed.
