The Secret Service is now under scrutiny after an assassination attempt nearly succeeded on former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican 2024 presidential nominee.
The shooter, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was able to position himself on a rooftop with a direct line of sight to Trump and fire a bullet that went through his ear.
The shooter was approximately 150 yards away from where Trump was speaking.
Multiple witnesses also claimed they tried to flag the shooter to the Secret Service and police.
The shooter was so close and visible that even some rally-goers spotted the shooter and took video as he was attempting to assassinate Trump.
Rally-goer Michael Difrischia, who captured the moment the shooter fired and was fired upon, told TMZ that he and his wife Amber were watching the Trump rally from outside the main grounds with about 30 to 40 other people.
He said his wife noticed Crooks climbing up onto a nearby building.
They and others said they watched him crawling up the side of the building to with a rifle before he took a shot.
In addition, another rally-goer told the BBC he noticed the shooter and attempted to flag the police and Secret Service for at least three to four minutes prior to the shooting.
He said about five to seven minutes after Trump began speaking:
…we noticed the guy crawling army, you know, bear crawling up the roof of the building beside us 50 feet away from us. So we’re standing there, you know, we’re pointing, we’re pointing at the guy crawling up the roof… .
We could clearly see him with a rifle. Absolutely. We’re pointing at him. The police are down there running around on the ground. We’re like, ‘Hey, man, there’s a guy on the roof with a rifle.’ And the police were like, ‘Huh? What?’
You know, like, like, they didn’t know what was going on. You know, we’re like, ‘Hey, right here on the roof. We can see from right here. We see him. You know, he’s, he’s crawling.’ And next thing you know, I’m like, I’m thinking to myself, I’m like, ‘Why is Trump still speaking? Why have they not pulled him off the stage?’ I’m standing there pointing at him for you know, two, three minutes. Secret Service is looking at us from the top of the barn. I’m pointing at that roof, just standing there like this. And next thing, you know, five shots ring out… .
… We were telling the police, we were pointing at him for the Secret Service who were looking at us from the top of the barn. They were looking at us the whole time that we were standing by that tree… . But they used binoculars..because the roof the way the slope went, he was behind where they could see. But why is there not Secret Service on all of these rooms here? I mean, this is not a big place.
The witness said he saw the Secret Service fire back at the shooter, killing him.
One video shows rally-goers shouting, “He’s got a gun!” before the initial shot rang out in the attempt to assassinate Trump.
Another video appeared to showed a counter sniper team with “eyes on the shooter” before he fired.
This looks really bad. This looks like the counter sniper team had eyes on the shooter, let him fire first, then returned fire.
Political commentator and former New York Police Department officer John Cardillo posted on X, “This looks really bad. This looks like the counter sniper team had eyes on the shooter, let him fire first, then returned fire.”
Even the FBI is questioning how the Secret Service allowed the shooter to fire off several rounds, according to a senior FBI official during a press conference after the assassination attempt.
The Secret Service was not present at the press conference — which CNN’s Kaitlin Collins called “stunning.”
While the Secret Service was not present at the press conference, they appear to be talking to reporters behind the scenes.
In addition, NBC News reported that senior law enforcement officials say the shooter was outside the security perimeter established by the Secret Service.
Later, a Secret Service spokesman posted a statement that said the Secret Service “neutralized” the shooter.
Army Special Forces veteran Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) posted on X, “I have very reliable sources telling me there have been repeated requests for stronger secret service protection for President Trump. Denied by Secretary Mayorkas.”
Conservative show host Dan Bongino, a former New York Police Department officer and Secret Service agent, claimed that Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has “repeatedly turned down requests” for more Secret Service protection for Trump.
“I want to repeat, and can absolutely confirm, the USSS Director Kim Cheatle has repeatedly turned down requests for a larger security footprint around President Trump. Despite knowing the threat level is catastrophic. Resign tonight,” he posted on X.
He also called the Secret Service’s performance a “catastrophic failure”:
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