by R. Cort Kirkwood, The New American:
More evidence of a major lapse in security at the campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania — where a deranged 20-year-old nearly assassinated former President Donald Trump, killed a husband and father, and wounded two others — has been uncovered.
CNN reported today that the Secret Service stopped would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks at a security gate, and carrying a range finder, three hours before he attempted to kill Trump.
That and other revelations in the CNN report again highlight the incredibly incompetent and short-sighted leadership of Director Kimberly Cheatle. Her focus at the once highly regarded agency is ensuring that 30 percent of positions are filled by women.
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Meanwhile, NBC reported that local cops were not in the building from which Crooks fired, as Cheatle told ABC News.
Cheatle will explain herself soon to the U.S. House Oversight Committee, which issued a subpoena today for her to testify on Monday.
MUST WATCH: CNN’s John Miller reveals the gunman who tried to assassinate Trump went through Secret Service security with his rangefinder and scoped out the snipers, who spotted him and said they need to keep an eye on him.
— Election Wizard (@ElectionWiz) July 16, 2024
The Latest
Crooks fired at Trump from a rooftop some 150 yards away at the Butler Farm Show Grounds in Butler, Pennsylvania. And as The New American previously reported, citing Pittsburgh NBC affiliate WPXI, local cops saw the shooter almost 30 minutes before he opened fire.
Trump grabbed his ear, then Secret Service agents tackled him and rushed him off the stage. A Secret Service countersniper killed Crooks with a headshot. Pandemonium ensued at the 50,000-attendee rally. The family of firefighter Corey Comperatore went home without a husband and father.
At about 3:00 p.m., “Crooks was at a security gate to enter the rally,” CNN reported:
He first aroused suspicion when he passed through the magnetometers carrying a rangefinder, which looks similar to a small pair of binoculars and is used by hunters and target shooters to measure distances when setting up a long-range shot, according to a senior law enforcement official briefed on the investigation.
As well, the network reported, though the Secret Service lost track of him, countersnipers had him in their sights before he opened fire:
Around the same time witnesses alerted police that Crooks was crawling on the roof of the American Glass Research building, one of the four counter-sniper teams observed Crooks looking at their position through the rangefinder, according to the senior law enforcement official.
“They were looking at him while he was looking at them,” the official said.
Crooks gained access to the rooftop by climbing on top of the building’s air conditioning system and hoisting himself up, according to a senior federal law enforcement official briefed on the investigation.
CNN reported that Crooks’s father had reported him missing and told agents he had gone to a shooting range.
Law enforcement sources also told CNN that Crooks told his boss he needed the day off on Saturday because he had “something to do.”
Cheatle’s Excuse
The report should intensify the pressure for Cheatle to resign. Myriad news reports showed that the Secret Service and local cops had multiple chances to stop Crooks.
Read More @ TheNewAmerican.com
