SouthernWorldwide.com – A report released on Thursday by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General has revealed that the U.S. Secret Service missed numerous chances to prevent the assassination attempt on Donald Trump in July 2024.
The 64-page document meticulously detailed several security oversights that enabled Thomas Matthew Crooks to gain a clear line of sight to Trump. This occurred while Trump was addressing supporters at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024.
The report explicitly stated that the Secret Service’s lack of cohesive policies and procedures, combined with insufficient intelligence sharing and poor collaboration with protective staff and local law enforcement, created the conditions that led to missed opportunities.
One significant finding was the failure to inform Trump’s protective detail about Crooks possessing a range finder and a long gun. This lapse was attributed to a breakdown in communication between the Secret Service and local law enforcement agencies.
Instead of being coordinated, the Secret Service teams operated from separate locations, over 250 yards apart. Their radio communication was intermittent and severely limited.
Consequently, the Secret Service failed to receive 102 radio transmissions. These transmissions pertained to an escalating search for a suspicious individual, including critical alerts that the suspect was on a rooftop armed with a long gun.
The report indicated that the Secret Service communications room only received a minimal number of phone calls and text messages. This lack of comprehensive communication meant agents did not grasp the severity of the threat, and Trump’s protective detail was never alerted to delay the speech or remove him from the stage.
Crooks managed to fire eight shots during the incident. Trump sustained a graze wound to his ear. Tragically, Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old rally attendee, was killed. Two other spectators suffered critical injuries but survived.
Immediately after Trump was shot, Secret Service agents acted swiftly to escort him to safety on the stage.
Beyond communication failures, the Secret Service also did not detect Crooks’ drone flight. He used this drone to survey the campaign event stage less than three hours before the rally. The report attributed this oversight to an under-trained operator and equipment malfunction.
Crooks’ drone remained undetected for nearly nine minutes, flying 471 yards from the event stage at an altitude of 102 feet. Although the Secret Service had a counter-drone system at the rally, it was not operational at the time of Crooks’ drone flight.
The agency also neglected to share intelligence regarding a potential long-distance threat to Trump with the Pittsburgh field office and the agents present at the event.
Furthermore, agents failed to adequately secure the area outside the established security perimeter. They did not utilize available resources to obstruct Crooks’ line of sight from the roof of the American Glass Research International building to Trump, despite this being identified as a potential concern.
Even though the American Glass Research complex was recognized as a line-of-sight vulnerability during advance security checks, the Secret Service did not ensure that the view to the stage was blocked.
One official noted that there should have been a more thorough advance preparation, with more officers and agents deployed, but acknowledged limitations in such deployments.
Initially, officials proposed using trucks already present at the site to block the view from the American Glass Research complex. However, Trump’s campaign staff reportedly rejected this idea, citing concerns that it would impede press photography.
An agent suggested an alternative placement for the trucks, but it was never confirmed whether the campaign staff actually relocated the equipment. As a result, Crooks had an unobstructed view of Trump’s podium from a distance of only 155 yards, the report stated.
The report concluded by offering several recommendations aimed at enhancing the Secret Service’s event security protocols. These include mandatory threat communication procedures, improved counter-drone training, and a formal process for documenting the identification and mitigation of line-of-sight vulnerabilities.
