New Details Emerge on Security Failings Before Trump Assassination Attempt

Investigators said the Secret Service spotted Thomas Matthew Crooks on a rooftop 20 minutes before he began shooting at former President Donald Trump, ABC News (Lean Left bias) reported, adding to a growing list of security failings surrounding the assassination attempt. 

Early Failures: Investigations have revealed several points of security failure. An hour before the shooting, Crooks was reported as a suspicious person; police had reports of a man pacing in front of the event’s metal detectors, and were reportedly “exchanging photos of the suspect.” The Secret Service lost sight of him for about half an hour, but a sniper from a local security team took a picture of him minutes before the shooting started. 

Post-Shooting Failures: Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle said police were stationed inside the building where Crooks assumed a position on the roof. Some people tried to warn police about Crooks over a minute before the shooting started. After the shooting, a metal fence prevented police and Secret Service officers from accessing Crooks’ location. 

For Context: The security failings have spurred both widespread criticism of the Secret Service and online speculation of intentional negligence. Few details have emerged about Crooks, although some reports on Thursday said he had researched Trump as well as President Joe Biden and the DNC. 

How the Media Covered It: Coverage generally framed the security failures negatively. Some coverage from the right focused on Republican criticism of Cheatle.