During the four hours of grilling the Secret Service and FBI about the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, one of the most disappointing aspects was the obvious questions that they either refused to answer or were unable to answer for the general public. However, the rangefinder question may provide insight into the urgency the Secret Service felt following their disastrous missteps, which led to a shooting incident involving Donald Trump, the murder of one man, and serious injuries to two others. Prepare.
The testimony on Tuesday revealed that the Secret Service declined a request from a local law enforcement agency to supply a drone for overwatch. For what reason may this be the case? The shoulder response shrug was every bit as evasive and inadequate as the “justification” for local law enforcement and the Secret Service’s mutual communication breakdown. Alternately, see how this one fits: Secret Service teams should have picked up the phone or radio and called the communications people to convey intelligence, but they were too preoccupied texting back and forth, diverting their attention from the crowd.
“It was excellent that there was a text chain, but that communication needs to flow over the net,” stated Ronald Rowe, acting director of the Secret Service. A radio channel must broadcast the information to ensure everyone is aware of their surroundings. “I want people utilizing the radio,” he continued. But naturally, there was no communication between the federal agency and the locals. This was yet another extremely foolish and catastrophic mistake.
The question of why no local law enforcement teams had canceled their plans to be on the roof of the AGR building remains unanswered. During the evidence on Tuesday, Rowe stated that the staff was actively searching for the suspicious individual carrying a rangefinder. That dubious figure proved to be none other than 20-year-old Thomas Crooks, a deadly man. A more detailed chronology revealed that Crooks did not begin fire until at least 30 seconds after law enforcement first noticed him brandishing his gun. Before the Secret Service sharpshooter took him out, he had fired eight bullets. Eight images. The FBI is still looking into the source of all the gunfire.
Rowe claimed they were observing a number of dubious personalities that day.
Even when noticed by golf rangefinders, suspicious individuals don’t pose an immediate threat. At a Trump event, why would anyone need a laser rangefinder? Was Crooks trying to see how far the Secret Service would go?
Senator Mike Lee, a Republican from Utah, was astounded.
Secret Service let Trump take the stage 17 minutes after receiving multiple reports of a “suspicious person” with a rangefinder.
They didn’t remove him from the stage after local law enforcement realized Crooks had a gun—perhaps because they didn’t have an open channel of…
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) July 30, 2024
We are informed that Crooks was permitted to pass it through the magnetometers before departing from the perimeter to set up shop on the unmonitored roof, where crews had been advised to vacate their stations in order to look for him.
Rowe stated in his testimony that these disastrous errors were the result of a “failure to examine our assumptions” as well as a “lack of creativity.”
We also know how that begins. That’s right—the Secret Service hasn’t yet prohibited rangefinders from attending gatherings. Talk about a lack of creativity and ingenuity. Really, no.
Author: Blake Ambrose