Local police were informed that the Secret Service were handling the building would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks used as a vantage point to shoot Donald Trump.
U.S. Secret Service (USSS) told authorities in Butler, Pennsylvania who were helping secure the rally on July 13 that we will take care of it when asked about securing the AGR complex buildings, according to a new document released by Sen. Chuck Grassley.
It continues to raise questions about the roles of each agency and office involved in securing Trumps rally site that day.
And it has especially heightened meaning after a second assassination attempt occurred on Sunday in West Palm Beach, Florida.
USSS has largely taken the brunt of the blame for the first attack, with former Director Kimberly Cheatle resigning in the wake of the assassination attempt where Trump was shot in his right ear.
Local law enforcement officials said U.S. Secret Service assured we will take care of the AGR building complex that Thomas Matthew Crooks used as a perch to shoot Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania this summer
Butler County law enforcement officials said, according to Grassleys letter to USSS Acting Director Ronald Rowe, that they told the agency counter sniper that they did not have the manpower to cover the building that Crooks ultimately used to position himself to shoot Trump.
The officials said they informed the USSS not to let people in the AGR complex area and knew it would be somewhere people would likely try to set up to see the former president speak.
Officials said at several points during a walkthrough of the rally site that they reiterated their concerns to agents and counter snipers.
Are these representations to my staff accurate and what actions were taken to secure the area? Please explain, Grassley demanded of Rowe.
Multiple agencies and groups are investigating the assassination attempt, including the House task force appointed by Speaker MiKe Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. The task forces scope has been expanded to include the second attack by Ryan Wesley Routh over the weekend.
The would-be assassin climbed on the roof of a building in the AGR complex with an AR-15 rifle just a few hundred feet from where Donald Trump was speaking at his rally on July 13
Crooks was shot dead y Secret Service after he was able to strike the former president in the ear, kill a rally attendee and critically injure two others
Trump was shot in the right ear at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13
Grassley has also taken it upon himself to probe the first assassination attempt and is often the authority in the Senate where whistleblowers bring their claims.
Crooks, 20, was neutralized by Secret Service after he was able to shoot Trump in the ear, kill one rally goer and critically injure two others. The FBI said pretty soon after the attack that Crooks was acting alone.
But Republicans arent convinced.
The second attempt on Sunday and Iranian plots to take out U.S. officials, including Trump, further back up claims that there is a widespread plan to try and take out the former president before Novembers election.
[T]he second attempted assassination against former President Trump on September 15, 2024, raises further questions about the Secret Services ability to fulfill its protective mission, Grassley wrote.
This calls for continuing oversight to make sure failures are not repeated, he added.