Secret Service declined offer for drone surveillance at Trump rally
The U.S. Secret Service held a press conference Friday to provide "additional transparency to the American public" as the blame game continues over how a shooter was able to gain access to a rooftop and fire shots at Donald Trump during a Pennsylvania campaign rally.
"This was a mission failure," acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr. said at the start of the news conference. "The sole responsibility of our agency is to make sure our protectees are never put in danger. We fell short of that in Butler. And I'm working to make sure that this failure does not happen again."
On July 13, Trump, the 2024 Republican presidential nominee, was struck in the ear by a bullet or a bullet fragment in the assassination attempt. One rallygoer was killed and two others were injured before the gunman was killed by a Secret Service counter-sniper.
The latest:
Rally was first time Secret Service counter-snipers were deployed for Trump post-presidency
Trump's rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, was the first time Secret Service counter-snipers had been used for Trump's detail since he left the White House in 2020, Rowe said Friday.
Prior to the July 13 rally, Trump has had sniper protection provided by state and local law enforcement, Rowe said.
"We evaluate our threat landscape every day. We calibrate based on that threat. We evaluated a threat stream that we have, and we put our Secret Service counter sniper personnel out there," Rowe said. "And looking back, it was very fortunate that we did."
Trump will have counter-sniper coverage provided by the Secret Service moving forward, as will President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Sen. JD Vance, the Republican nominee for vice president.
"We're going to make sure that we have all the resources out there to address any challenges that we may have," said Rowe.
Secret Service declined offer for drone surveillance from local police
A reporter asked Rowe if the agency used a drone to enhance surveillance at the rally, specifically a drone that local law enforcement offered to loan them. Rowe said he’s aware of reports that local law enforcement had offered a drone, but the Secret Service declined.
Rowe said the Secret Service is now working to add drones and other unmanned aerial surveillance to its security protocols.
"We should have had a better line of sight on some of those high ground concerns," Rowe said. "We thought we might have it covered with the human eye. But clearly we are going to change our approach now and leverage technology."
Secret Service won't say if anyone will be fired, disciplined
Asked by a reporter if anyone at the Secret Service will be fired or disciplined over the July 13 attack, Rowe said it depends on the findings of a "mission assurance review."
"If in fact there were privacy violations, then it will go into a disciplinary type of investigation," Rowe said. "Those are internal, we can’t provide real-time updates on that. These are very thorough investigations, and if in fact there were policy violations, those employees will be held accountable."
Trump to give ‘victim interview’
According to Fox News, Trump was scheduled to give his "victim interview" to the FBI on Thursday, but it’s not clear if the meeting happened. The FBI said they’re aware of exclusive cell phone video obtained by Fox News showing someone moving across the roof minutes before shots rang out, but offered no further comment. The building was less than 150 yards from where Trump was speaking.
Video shows Trump shooting victim's POV moments before gunfire
A new video from James Copenhaver, one of the victims critically wounded in the July 13 assassination attempt against former President Trump, shows a figure moving across a rooftop just minutes before gunfire rang out at Trump's rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Former Assistant FBI Director Chris Swecker called the video "damning and chilling."
Former US president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump touches his injured ear during a sound check on the third day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 17, 2024. (Photo by A
Who was the shooter who tried to assassinate Trump?
USSS to hold briefing on Trump shooting
The U.S. Secret Service is hosting a press conference to provide additional transparency to the American public following Acting Director Ronald Rowe’s testimony to the Congressional Committees regarding the attempted assassination of Former President Donald Trump July 13. Michael Harrigan, the former chief of the FBI's Firearms Training Program joined LiveNOW from FOX's Josh Breslow to discuss.
The shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, died from a single gunshot wound to the head, the Butler County Coroner's Office confirmed. His time of death was 6:25 p.m., 14 minutes after Crooks first started shooting at Trump.
RELATED: Bodycam captures Thomas Crooks' death following Trump shooting
Local law enforcement officers had first observed a suspicious-looking man at the rally site more than an hour before the event and circulated that information, including photographs of a man who turned out to be Crooks. But the officers ultimately lost track of Crooks, who was able to scale the roof of a building at AGR International Inc., a supplier of automation equipment for the glass and plastic packaging industry, and fire an estimated eight shots with an AR-15-style rifle.
RELATED: Trump shooter's parents called police hours before assassination attempt
Shortly before the shooting, a local officer climbed up to the roof to investigate. Crooks turned and pointed his rifle at the officer, who retreated.
A social media account believed to be associated with the gunman suspected in the assassination attempt espoused political violence and included antisemitic and anti-immigrant sentiment. The posts were from the 2019-2020 timeframe, when Crooks would have been in high school.
Why is the Secret Service under fire?
Investigation continues into Trump rally shooting
The Secret Service is facing heightened scrutiny in the wake of the assassination attempt against former President Trump, in which the shooter was allowed to bring a rifle onto a nearby rooftop in broad daylight. The FBI is investigating the Trump shooting as well as the home of Thomas Matthew Crooks.
The fact that a shooter was able to get so close to the former president while he’s supposed to be closely guarded has raised questions about what security plans the agency tasked with taking a bullet for its protectees put in place.
The Secret Service acknowledged it had denied some requests by former President Trump's campaign for increased security at his events in the years leading up to his attempted assassination. The Secret Service initially said it had not rejected requests for more security in the immediate aftermath of the attack on July 13.
RELATED: Gunman used drone to scope rally site before Trump assassination attempt
The agency is now facing multiple investigations into its protocols, and the incident prompted the resignation of former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle after a high-profile congressional hearing.
Rowe told lawmakers this week that the unsecured roof was "indefensible" and said it was regrettable that local law enforcement had not alerted his agency before the shooting that an armed subject had been spotted on a nearby roof.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.