It is not clear who was assigned to watch the building a shooter scaled and used to nearly assassinate former President Donald Trump, according to preliminary findings of an investigation released in a report by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI).
The report said Butler County Emergency Services (Butler ESU) had briefed local SWAT teams and snipers assigned to the rally the morning of the event on July 13, 2024. It also provided local law enforcement with images of the security perimeter at the rally and that it did not include the American Glass Research (AGR) building the shooter later used.
The report said Secret Service did not attend this meeting. The agency has previously confirmed the building was placed outside its protective perimeter.
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While a Butler County Emergency Services sniper has confirmed he and others were inside the building, it is unclear who was assigned specifically to protect it and look for threats on its rooftop, which was only about 150 yards away from where Trump was scheduled to speak.
The report also said the Secret Service was initially not going to send snipers to the rally.
“Local law enforcement informed Senator Johnson’s office that days before the rally, they learned from Butler County law enforcement that Secret Service was not going to send their own snipers to the rally and that local law enforcement would need to go “sniper heavy” in order to ensure proper coverage,” the report said.
“Local law enforcement learned at least a day before the rally that Secret Service changed course and decided to send two sniper teams. If Secret Service had originally not intended to send snipers to the rally, it is unclear why and when Secret Service changed their plan,” it said.
It was Secret Service snipers who ultimately took out the shooter.
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Committee on Oversight and AccountabilityThe report also contained a timeline of events, according to sources investigators spoke to.
The report said that the sniper in the building saw the shooter at 5:10 p.m. that day for the first time, and that he took pictures of him at 5:14 p.m. He said that although he did not have a weapon, he seemed “suspicious.” The sniper took at least two photos of Crooks. It is not stated in the report what he did with those photos. At 5:32 p.m., the sniper saw Crooks again, and “shortly after,” reported him to a group text of other law enforcement snipers on site, and was instructed to report the suspect to command.
At 5:41 p.m., the sniper called into command to report the suspect, and at 5:45 p.m. the sniper texted the Beaver ESU Group Command about the suspect and instructed them to relay the message to command. At 5:59 p.m., a Beaver County law enforcement operator received confirmation from a Butler County SWAT commander that the command — which included Secret Service — was made aware of the messages and requested more information about the suspect’s location.
The gunman would open fire approximately 13 minutes later.
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