Ten days have passed since a failed assassin shot former President Donald Trump in the ear, resulting in the death of former fire chief Corey Comperatore and injuries to two other men at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
As investigators and lawmakers continue to investigate the security lapses that allowed this tragedy to occur, new details are emerging, including videos from the scene.
Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) shared bodycam footage from shortly after the incident on his Twitter/X account marked as “Sensitive Content.”
The tweet contains a link to the footage and an embedded video shared by other accounts.
In his tweet, Grassley stated:
SENSITIVE CONTENT: July 13 Bodycam footage provides more info than Secret Service will share w America We NEED detailed answers ASAP on security failures TRANSPARENCY BRINGS ACCOUNTABILITYVid obtained from Beaver Co Emergency Services Unit in compliance w congressional requests
Grassley also shared a follow-up tweet:
NEW My office has obtained docs from law enforcement on July 13 assassination attempt of Pres Trump I’m writing Secret Service Acting Dir Rowe & DHS Scty Mayorkas AGAIN 2get badly needed answers/clarity pic.twitter.com/LyQMzYGCkD
— Chuck Grassley (@ChuckGrassley) July 23, 2024
NEW My office has obtained docs from law enforcement on July 13 assassination attempt of Pres Trump I’m writing Secret Service Acting Dir Rowe & DHS Scty Mayorkas AGAIN 2get badly needed answers/clarity
Part of the letter from Grassley to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe states:
I write to you to again request the Secret Service operational security plan, and related records, for the July 13, 2024, campaign event held by former President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. My office has received records related to the apparent location of some law enforcement posts during the July 13, 2024, event to include Butler County and Beaver County Emergency Services Units (ESU) with assignment at the AGR building. My office has also obtained the below color-coded document indicating what appears to be some state law enforcement sectors for the Trump rally and the document notes each sector is highlighted by “order of importance.” Is this document accurate? Did local law enforcement have the shared responsibility with Secret Service to cover the AGR building? To better understand the full security posture of the event, the Secret Service must provide equivalent records.
…
Additional records I’ve obtained show that a Secret Service Counter Unmanned Aerial System(UAS) operator was on the personnel list assigned to the July 13, 2024 event, and then-Director Cheatle testified yesterday that “there are times during a security plan that the Secret Service does deploy an asset like a drone.” Yet, it’s reported that the gunman flew a video-capable drone over the event site hours before former President Trump took the stage, which may have helped him plan the attack. Is that reporting accurate? Is the below document accurate?
The letter requires additional information and documentation to be provided by July 30.
Grassley shared a video containing bodycam footage from the Beaver County Emergency Services Unit. The video shows four ESU officers speaking with a man in a suit, likely Secret Service or federal law enforcement, on the roof of the AGR building next to the deceased shooter.
A female uniformed officer named “Michelle” is also present on the roof but is not part of the group conversation.
The officer wearing the bodycam confirms to the suited man that the downed shooter is the same individual photographed by the Beaver County sniper and whose pictures were distributed when he was identified as a suspicious person.
One of the ESU officers points out a rifle several feet away from the shooter on the roof.
There is a discussion about whether the shooter had been on a bike, which was being treated as a “suspicious device.”
The bodycam officer indicates that he believes the Beaver County sniper is inside the AGR building, directing the man in the suit to go to a window and call for “Greg,” who allegedly saw the shooter come from the bike and set it down before losing sight of him.
Additionally, there’s discussion about two other individuals detained on the other side of the building. According to the man in the suit, these individuals were initially filming other officers, possibly Secret Service, then started filming the shooter on the roof; however, they ran away when shots were fired.
He acknowledged that they may have fled due to hearing shots and it’s not clear if they were involved.
The man in the suit then confirms there were three victims in the crowd: one deceased and two Life-Flighted. The man takes a phone call and there is a call heard over one of the ESU officer’s radios requesting access to a drone “to clear this water tower.”
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
That Cheatle has now resigned does nothing to obviate the issue.
As many have observed — including Cheatle herself — this was a colossal failure.
Hopefully, Grassley and the others seeking answers will receive them. And soon.
