Multiple Failures, Multiple Investigations: Unraveling Donald Trump’s Assassination Attempt

BUTLER, Pennsylvania. The young man walked along the edges of Donald Trump’s campaign rally, carrying a large backpack on his shoulders and looking through the lens of a rangefinder toward the rooftops behind the stage where the former president would stand.

His behavior was so strange, so different from that of the other rally participants, that local authorities noticed, radioed their concerns and took a photo. But then he disappeared.

The image was released by police officers stationed outside the security perimeter. on that hot, sunny Saturday afternoon. But the man did not appear again until witnesses saw him climbing the side of an industrial building that was 135 meters (157 yards) from the stage.

That’s when he opened fire, six minutes after Trump began speaking, in an attempt to assassinate the Republican Party’s presumptive presidential candidate. The shooter killed one rally attendee and seriously injured two others. Trump suffered an ear injury but was not seriously injuredappearing a few days later at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee with a small bandage over the wound.

Now come the questions, and there are many. Several investigations were launched, both into the crime itself and into how law enforcement authorities allowed it to happen. It is becoming increasingly clear that this is a complicated failure, involving multiple errors and at least nine local and federal law enforcement divisions that should have been working together. Law enforcement also warned about the potential by copycat attacks and more violence.

This story is based on interviews with eight law enforcement officials, some of whom spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the investigation into the attempt on Trump’s life.

The Secret Service always partners with local authorities when a president, political candidate or other high-level official comes to town, and Saturday’s rally was no different. An advance team arrives early to examine the scene and identify potential areas of concern. They order the vehicles to be moved. They created barriers. They block roads.

In some larger cities, one or two local agencies may work alongside federal teams. In more rural areas, a local agency will not have enough manpower, so multiple agencies are often involved. On Saturday, the show of force included members of at least six different agencies, including two sheriff’s offices, local police, state police and several Secret Service teams, as well as firefighters and emergency rescue officials. Within these agencies there are individual divisions that have different functions.

In theory, more labor is better. But it can often create miscommunication, and it’s unclear how information about Crooks was conveyed. For example, it is not clear to what extent his photograph was circulated or whether everyone was equally aware of the potential threat.

All the extra officers can drain resources, leaving agencies overwhelmed. The Secret Service, at any time, protects the president, candidates and others, in addition to being a point of command at major national security events. The same goes for local police, who told the Secret Service they didn’t have enough people to station officers outside the building all day.

The Secret Service controls the area within the perimeter after people pass through metal detectors. Local law enforcement must operate outside the perimeter.

The shooter, later identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, disappeared from the crowd of Trump supporters dressed in red, white and blue. The flow of supporters entering through the metal detectors was thinning. Trump was preparing to continue.

The roof from which Crooks fired is in a complex of buildings that make up AGR International Inc., a supplier of automation equipment to the glass and plastic packaging industry. The building was closed during the day except to authorities.

Crooks was seen again when members A local SWAT team, stationed inside the building complex, noticed him walking and looking at the roof. An officer took a photo of Crooks and radioed others to be on the lookout for a suspicious person looking through a rangefinder — a small, binocular-like device that hunters use to measure the distance to a target.

Not long afterward, witnesses reported seeing him climbing the building closest to the stage. He then assembled his AR-style rifle and lay down on the roof, with a detonator in his pocket to detonate rudimentary explosive devices that were hidden in his car parked nearby.

Outside, a local officer went up to the roof to investigate. The shooter turned and pointed the rifle at him. The officer did not – or could not – fire a single shot. But Crooks did, firing into the crowd toward the former president and sending panicked spectators into hiding as Secret Service agents secured Trump and pulled him from the stage. Two counter-sniper teams were stationed in buildings behind Trump, and the team furthest from Crooks fired once, killing him.

“We are talking about a failure”, said the Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas told CNN. “We will analyze through an independent review how this occurred, why it occurred, and make recommendations and conclusions to ensure this does not happen again.”

House Oversight Committee Republicans subpoenaed Secret Service director Kim Cheatle. House Speaker Mike Johnson said he would create a task force to investigate, and some Republicans called for Cheatle to resign. Security has been beefed up for Trump and Biden, and candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also received a protective detail.

President Joe Biden has ordered an independent review of the shooting. The Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general also opened an investigation into the Secret Service Treatment of the shooting.

But it’s a big task. There were special agents, presidential protection teams, counter-attack teams, and counter-snipers all there that day. There were also about 50 firefighters and emergency personnel, as well as dozens of officers from the Butler Township police, deputies from Beaver County and Butler County and troopers from the Pennsylvania State Police.

It will take weeks – if not months – to interview all of the officers involved and determine exactly how Crooks was able to do this. the most serious attempt kill a president or presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981.

The shooter was prepared for the carnage. Investigators discovered he brought several loaded magazines. He also purchased 50 cartridges on the day of the shooting. The rifle was legally purchased by his father years earlier.

Investigators found a bulletproof vest in his car and another rudimentary explosive device in his home, where in recent months he had received several packages, including some that contained potentially dangerous materials. The FBI gained access to Crooks’ cellphone, searched his computer, home and car and interviewed more than 100 people so far.

But the investigation failed to unravel the mystery surrounding the biggest question: why did he do it?

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Long reported from Washington and Balsamo reported from Chicago. Associated Press writers Eric Tucker, Alanna Durkin Richer and Rebecca Santana in Washington and Maryclaire Dale in Butler, Pennsylvania, contributed to this report.