When U. S. Secret Service snipers stopped at a farm in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 10, just three days before the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, it was the first time in this crusade cycle that the tactical unit highly trained had been deployed to hold an occasion for the former president.
“This is the first time Secret Service countersnipers have been deployed to support” a Trump event this year, acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe told CBS News at a news conference Friday at the federal law enforcement agency’s headquarters in Washington, D. C.
On July 13, a gunman opened fire on Trump from a rooftop about 400 feet from the former president at an outdoor rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. A video investigation through CBS News decided that the shooter, Thomas, 20, Crooks, fired 8 shots in less than six seconds before being fatally struck by a bullet fired through one of the snipers, a fact that was later proven by the FBI.
Among a litany of security failures revealed through Rowe on Friday afternoon, the acting director told reporters that Secret Service countersnipers had radio communications with local authorities there that day. Instead, agents relied on text messages, and local Butler County tactical groups texted Secret Service snipers two photos of Crooks at 5:45 p. m. m. , about 26 minutes before the shooting. fire.
At the time, neither local authorities nor the Secret Service knew Crooks possessed a gun. Rowe revealed that neither the counterattackers nor Trump’s security team knew about the suspicious individual, first discovered by local police about 75 minutes earlier, armed until they fired at each other.
“What I’ve asked now is for everyone to use the radio network,” Rowe said. “And if we don’t have the ability to integrate or make that peer system work, that’s one of the things we’re in right now. “
Communications were also inconsistent, Rowe explained, because there were two separate command posts in use that day: a “secret service security room” and a separate command post staffed by local law enforcement. Only one Pennsylvania State Police officer assigned to the agency’s security room, and there were no Secret Service members inside the local law enforcement command post, a scenario Rowe described as “unique” and deserving of further investigation.
“If the vast majority of our partners are in a unified command post or elsewhere, we’re probably going to have to be there as well,” Rowe added.
According to a Secret Service timeline released through Rowe on Friday, at 5:53 p. m. m. , the head of the US Secret Service countersnipers sent a text message to his team indicating that local authorities were “looking for a suspicious individual outside the perimeter hiding around the AGR building. ” referring to the roof from which the gunman then opened fire on Trump.
“At this time, the Secret Service corps is aware that local authorities are handling a case of a suspicious individual,” Rowe said. “The concept of local law enforcement dealing with these issues is not unusual in sites. “
Rowe noted that several suspicious people were reported to the Secret Service on July 13, as well as more than 100 calls to local authorities about issues ranging from requests for general assistance to medical issues and reports of missing children.
At 6:11 p. m. , moments before the shooting, a member of Trump’s coverage team contacted a counterpart at the Pittsburgh Secret Service Field Office to maintain this prior communication, but it was too late. As officials spoke on the phone, gunshots rang out. Rang.
“Right in the middle of that phone conversation, gunfire starts going off,” Rowe said.
Rowe described the lack of policy on the roof where Crooks was located as “a Secret Service failure” and added that “the roof line has been covered. ” “We have paid more attention to that. ”
The Secret Service also failed to deploy a drone to the protest site, Rowe said, and the company also rejected an offer from local authorities to use its drone. The interim director said he did not know why the offer was rejected and called it another protocol factor that will be analyzed.
“One of the other adjustments I implemented when I was acting director is that we will now leverage the use of unmanned aerial systems at the sites,” Rowe said.
The assassination attempt sparked increased scrutiny of secret service operations, with several departmental and parliamentary investigations. Rowe took over as the firm’s principal last week after Kimberly Cheatle resigned under pressure from lawmakers.
The Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday delayed its plan to meet next year’s investments for the U. S. Secret Service.
Testifying Tuesday before the Senate Homeland Security and Judiciary committees, Rowe said the July 3 shooting “made me ashamed,” adding that he “can’t justify why that roof wasn’t safer. “