Butler, Pennsylvania – Experts say poor communication between local and federal law enforcement contributed to growing security concerns that led to the assassination of former President Trump.
Nearly 90 minutes after law enforcement discovered would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old managed to elude law enforcement and climb to a roof with direct view of the former president. He opened fire at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, hitting Trump in the ear, killing one spectator and seriously injuring two others.
Text messages show local law enforcement officials shared messages with each other when Crooks came to their attention before the shooting. However, acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr. testified at a joint Senate oversight hearing on Tuesday that information about Crooks was not relayed from local officials to federal officials.
“On the surface, this appears to be an obvious communications failure,” Michael Verden, a former Secret Service agent and founder of security firm Lake Forest Group, told Fox News Digital. “I’ve done these events with presidents, and you have to have a strong, seamless communications plan.”
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Thomas Matthew Crooks photographed by a sniper. (Office of Senator Ron Johnson)
The breakdown in communication became apparent after text messages between local law enforcement officials showed they spotted Crooks 90 minutes before the shooting and flagged him as a person of interest. Despite the escalation of Crooks’ photo, the would-be assassin managed to evade capture.
“Anyone with authority at that gathering needs to be able to talk to each other,” Fielden said. “Butler County and the Secret Service should talk to each other.”
The FBI says the assassination attempt on Trump was “carefully planned” to find out where the rally was.
“They don’t have what we call a joint command center,” Fielden said. “You can have state, local and federal representatives in one location sharing what they’re experiencing with their people on the ground.”
All roads lead to communication.
“All roads lead to communication,” he said.
Body camera video from local law enforcement shows chaos among agencies following the attempted assassination of former President Trump on Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania. (U.S. Secret Service)
Weldon expressed surprise that no one approached Crooks, who was stationed at the American Glass Research Building before the shooting. The former Secret Service agent said the agency has a unit dedicated to handling “situations like this.”
“We have a protective intelligence team, usually Secret Service agents and local law enforcement officers working together,” he said.
“They were there for one purpose – to get close to all the suspicious people,” he said.
“I’m very confident that there is a protective intelligence team at that location to guide the team at that location,” he said. “If not, that’s a huge inconsistency.”
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Law enforcement officers stand over the body of would-be Trump assassin Thomas Crooks on Saturday, July 13, 2024. (Driller Todd)
Charles Marino, a former Secret Service supervisory agent and senior adviser at the Department of Homeland Security, told Fox News Digital that the events of July 13 highlighted “the worst and best of the agency.”
“This fateful day was preceded by a catastrophic failure throughout security planning and implementation that will ultimately expose further vulnerabilities in the agency’s communications, coordination and overall strained and limited resources,” he said.
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Marino said the brave actions displayed by agents in the immediate aftermath of the shooting reveal why the Secret Service “is worth fixing.”
“While the Butler incident was one of the worst-case scenarios for the agency, the Secret Service’s best personnel were called upon to serve as the last line of defense in the event of failure as it progressed,” he said.
“The selfless courage and determination displayed by Secret Service agents who responded immediately as gunfire continued and used their bodies to protect former President Trump, as well as the actions and skills of Secret Service countersnipers, made the Secret Service what The Special Agents of the U.S. Secret Service. “Service worthy of improvement—undeniable devotion to the mission, the people, and the country they protect. “
