The United States Secret Service (USSS) has refuted claims a member of former President Trump’s security team requested additional security resources before the attempted assassination on July 13, 2024.
The USSS says the assertion is “completely false” and that the agency recently allocated additional protective resources and capabilities to Trump on its own initiative.
Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, attempted to shoot Trump from a rooftop around 140 metres from the rally in Butler, around one hour’s drive away. USSS agents shot and killed Crooks shortly after the incident, recovering an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle. A bullet clipped Trump’s right ear, but he was otherwise uninjured. However, one 50-year-old male rally attendee was killed, and two more critically injured.
“I want to thank the US Secret Service and all of law enforcement for their rapid response on the shooting that just took place in Butler,” Trump posted on Truth Social shortly after the incident.
“The former President and the current President are commonly subject to threats,” the USSS said via a statement. “The US Secret Service takes threats seriously and takes actions based on those threats as warranted.”
Within hours of the shooting, the FBI assumed the role of the lead federal law enforcement agency , sending field agents, crisis response team members, and evidence response technicians to the site. “We will continue to support this investigation with the full resources of the FBI, alongside our partners at the US Secret Service and state and local law enforcement,” the agency said in a statement.
FBI Director Christopher A. Wray called the shooting “absolutely despicable” and intolerable. “The shooter may be deceased, but the investigation is very much ongoing, and because of that, we are limited in what we say at this point,” he said. “But, I can say that we have committed the full force of the FBI to this investigation.”
Crooks was a registered Republican due to vote in his first presidential election in November. Crook’s father had legally purchased the gun but is not suspected of any involvement. There are also unverified reports that bomb-making materials were found in the shooter’s car.
President Biden, who spoke to Trump on the phone after the shooting, said he was glad Trump was uninjured. “There’s no place for this kind of violence in America,” Biden said. A White House official described the phone call as “good, short and respectful.”
Ánswering reporter’s questions in the wake of the assassination attempt and a decision by Trump to proceed with campaigning, a USSS spokesperson said the next rally to be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was designated a national special security event, the highest US Government security designation. “We are confident in the security plans that are in place for this event,” she said. “We’ve worked over the last 18 months to develop operational security plans.” However, she added there would not be any major changes to the security arrangements in Milwaukee.
Trump is scheduled to speak in Wisconsin on Monday morning, July 15 (AEST).
