Staff Reports
New footage reveals the alarming moments leading up to the July 13 assassination attempt on Donald Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The video, recorded by James Copenhaver, one of the victims struck in the endeavor, shows an unidentified figure ambling across the roof of the American Glass Research building just before the shots rang out. This intriguing visual was shared first by Fox News, capturing a suspicious scene that raises more questions than answers.
At 6:08 p.m., a scant three minutes before the would-be assassin, Thomas Matthew Crooks, began firing into the crowd with an AR-15 style rifle, the footage depicts this shadowy character traversing the roof. Seconds later, chaos erupted as Crooks unleashed eight rounds at the crowd, managing to injure Trump and fatally wound 50-year-old Corey Comperatore, who, tragically, was trying to protect his daughters during the onslaught. Copenhaver and another victim, 57-year-old David Dutch, are still wrestling with the aftereffects of this horrifying event.
I just checked this against the original speech footage.
This clip begins 2 minutes and 57 seconds before Crooks started shooting.
That’s about 3 whole minutes of him very obviously walking on top of that building. https://t.co/VPwpO8ufha
— Vince Coglianese (@VinceCoglianese) July 31, 2024
In what seems to be a stark failure of security measures, footage reveals the strange figure wandering about for a full three minutes without anyone raising the alarm. Contextually, it has now come to light from various sources that law enforcement had been tracking Crooks for quite some time before the violence erupted. Secret Service agents reportedly spotted him 50 minutes prior to Trump’s appearance and flagged him as suspicious. Yet, despite this ample warning, an operational disaster ensued, culminating in a devastating attack on both Trump and innocent lives.
Adding fuel to the fire, whispers of mismanaged security protocols have surfaced. It turns out that the Secret Service was initially assigned to monitor the roof but conveniently decided to vacate the area, citing excessive heat and the “dangerous sloped roof.” Meanwhile, the agency faced criticism and ultimately pressure to resign from its director, Kimberly Cheatle, following scrutiny of their lack of preparedness for the rally. If there were any doubts about the need for reform in security measures for political events, they have been obliterated by this calamity.
Further complicating the situation, it’s been revealed that Crooks was not merely acting on impulse; he allegedly flew a drone over the rally site multiple times ahead of the event to scout the area. Local law enforcement’s attempts to utilize drones for surveillance purposes were repeatedly turned down by the Secret Service. Ironically, as the country grapples with unrest and violence against public figures, this lack of proactive security measures seems more glaring than ever. It’s time to demand accountability from agencies sworn to protect, and not just shake our heads in disbelief when they fail us.
