In a letter to Acting U.S. Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) revealed significant security lapses that led to the shooting of former President Donald Trump during his July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The letter brings to light troubling concerns raised by local law enforcement about inadequate security measures that were ultimately ignored.
According to Grassley, Butler County law enforcement officials informed his staff in interviews that they had expressed concerns to the Secret Service during a security walkthrough on July 11.
These officials reportedly warned the Secret Service about the need to secure the AGR complex buildings, noting that they lacked the manpower to cover the area and believed people would gather there to catch a glimpse of Trump.
They requested that the area be locked down to prevent potential security risks.
However, despite these warnings, two Secret Service agents dismissed the concerns, responding with, “We will take care of it.”
Grassley’s letter presses Rowe for clarification on whether these accounts from local law enforcement are accurate and what steps the Secret Service took to secure the area in question.
He also requested additional records and reiterated previous information requests that had gone unanswered, with a new deadline set for September 24.
Grassley further criticized the Secret Service for failing to provide requested information on August 19 and September 4, 2023, calling this lack of cooperation “unacceptable.”
He emphasized that the agency’s refusal to provide the necessary details undermines Congress’s constitutional authority to conduct independent oversight and contradicts Rowe’s own testimony about cooperating with Congress. “I’ve had to go around the Secret Service to get answers,” Grassley wrote, expressing his frustration.
On July 13, Trump was shot by Thomas Matthew Crooks while speaking at the rally in Butler.
The shooting resulted in the death of one rally attendee and injuries to two others. Crooks, who had accessed a nearby building using a ladder he purchased earlier that day, fired from a vantage point that Secret Service counter snipers should have been monitoring.
Despite their clear view of the shooter, they failed to act. Eyewitnesses later reported seeing Crooks on the roof with a rifle before the shooting, but no action was taken until after Trump was shot.
Additionally, reports surfaced that a police officer had encountered Crooks on the roof before the shooting but allowed him to go after Crooks pointed a gun at him.
The incident has raised numerous questions about the Secret Service’s handling of the situation. Former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle reportedly excused the decision not to monitor the building, citing its sloped roof as a safety concern for agents.
Grassley’s investigation into the assassination attempt on July 13 is also tied to a recently foiled plot by 46-year-old Pakistani national Asif Merchant and another assassination attempt on Trump in West Palm Beach just last weekend.
The second attempt occurred while Trump was golfing at his West Palm Beach resort with real estate investor Steve Witkoff. Secret Service agents identified a muzzle aimed at Trump from a fence line on the golf course.
The shooter fled, leaving behind two backpacks, a loaded SKS-style rifle, a Go-Pro camera, and other items. The gunman was later identified as 58-year-old Routh, who officials confirmed had been targeting Trump.
The series of incidents has left many questions about the effectiveness of the Secret Service’s security protocols and has sparked ongoing investigations into these serious threats against a former president.
