Assassination Attempt news dominates this week
A Congressional report on the Butler attempt, assassination charges for Routh, and charges against another individual - Plus, the Trump Assassination Task Force hearing.
This week has been all about the assassination attempts on former President Donald Trump. There is actually a hearing going on as this article is dropping. Scroll to the bottom for the video feed.
Here’s what’s happened so far this week.
Yesterday, Sept. 25, the Senate unanimously passed H.R.9106 - Enhanced Presidential Security Act of 2024. The House passed it 405-0 the day prior. The Act now goes to President Biden for signature.
"The Director of the United States Secret Service shall apply the same standards for determining the number of agents required to protect Presidents, Vice Presidents, and major Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates."
The Secret Service is also ordered to conduct a review and report back within 180 days to the judiciary committees for each chamber.
And H.R. 9106 is clearly needed given what has gone on this past week. Let's get into it.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) dropped its much anticipated interim report on the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump at a July rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, by the now-deceased Thomas Matthew Crooks.
The Sept. 25 press release was issued by U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-MI) and Rand Paul (R-KY), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Ron Johnson, (R-WI), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.
“What happened on July 13 was an accumulation of errors that produced a perfect storm of stunning failure,” said Chairman Blumenthal in the release. “It was a tragedy and completely preventable from the outset. There was both a failure to provide resources – like a working radio, drone detection system, or counter surveillance team – and lack of an effective chain of command. Looking forward, we need structural reform in the agency itself.
Ranking Member Johnson said, “Today’s interim report expands on those security failures, but the investigation is not complete. Federal agencies like the Secret Service, FBI, and DOJ continue to withhold records that are vital to this Committee’s work. There is still much more information that the public and Congress deserve to know."
Johnson went on to say Congress needs to use a "compulsory process" to get that information, likely meaning subpoenas.
Blumenthal has made statements to the media over the past week that there were shocking items in this report and he was not wrong. U.S. Secret Service is abbreviated at USSS throughout the interim report.
"The Committee finds that USSS failures in planning, communications, security, and allocation of resources for the July 13, 2024 Butler rally were foreseeable, preventable, and directly related to the events resulting in the assassination attempt that day," the interim report reads. "The Committee also finds that siloed communications and coordination problems between federal, state, and local law enforcement officials remain unaddressed and were a contributing factor to the failures at the July 13 Butler rally."
Key Findings
1. USSS personnel were notified of a suspicious person with a rangefinder around the AGR building approximately 27 minutes before the shooting.
2. USSS was notified about an individual on the AGR roof approximately two minutes before Crooks fired from the AGR roof.
3. Shortly before shots were fired, a USSS counter sniper saw local law enforcement running toward the AGR building with their guns drawn, but he did not alert former President Trump's protective detail to remove him from the stage.
4. USSS counter snipers – including the one who shot and killed Crooks – were sent to the rally in response to "credible intelligence" of a threat.
5. USSS Advance Agents for the July 13 rally denied individual responsibility for planning or security failures, deflected blame, and could not identify who had final decision authority for the rally.
6. Local law enforcement raised concern about the security coverage of the AGR building.
7. USSS advance personnel identified multiple line-of-sight concerns at the Butler Farm Show grounds, including the AGR building.
8. There were two separate communications centers at the July 13 rally – one run by USSS and one by local law enforcement.
9. Crooks was in the USSS counter sniper's sights for "mere seconds" before he fired at Crooks.
10. USSS Advance Agents requested additional resources that would have been helpful, but those assets were denied.
11. USSS' C-UAS system experienced technical problems and was inoperable until 4:33 pm, after Crooks flew his drone near the rally site.
12. Several USSS officials reported experiencing technical problems with their radios at the rally, and told the Committee such problems are common for USSS.
Key Failures
1. USSS failed to clearly define responsibilities for planning and security at the July 13 rally.
- USSS personnel responsible for planning in advance of the July 13 rally denied that they were individually responsible for planning or security failures and deflected blame.
- USSS Advance Agents told the Committee that planning and security decisions were made jointly, with no specific individual responsible for approval.
2. USSS failed to ensure the AGR Building was effectively covered.
- USSS identified the AGR building as a concern due to the line-of-sight from the roof to the stage, but did not take steps to ensure sufficient security measures were in place.
- USSS knew that local snipers planned to set up inside the AGR building and USSS did not express objections or concerns about that placement.
- USSS personnel, including the USSS Counter Sniper Team Leader, did not enter the AGR building or go on the roof prior to the shooting.
- One USSS Counter Sniper team, whose responsibility included scanning the area around the AGR building for threats, had an obstructed view of the AGR roof.
3. USSS failed to effectively coordinate with state and local law enforcement.
- USSS did not give state or local partners specific instructions for covering the AGR building, including the positioning of local snipers.
- USSS did not adequately consider state and local law enforcement operational plans.
- Communications at the July 13 rally were siloed and USSS did not ensure it could share information with local law enforcement partners in real time.
4. USSS failed to provide resources for the July 13 rally that could have enhanced security.
- USSS denied specific requests for additional Counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS) capabilities and a Counter Assault Team liaison.
- A USSS Counter Surveillance Unit – which could have helped patrol the outer perimeter that included the AGR building – was not requested by USSS Advance Agents.
5. USSS failed to communicate information about the suspicious person to key personnel, and failed to take action to ensure the safety of former President Trump.
- At approximately 5:45 pm, USSS personnel were notified that local law enforcement observed a suspicious person with a rangefinder near the AGR building. By 5:52 pm, at least eight USSS personnel had been informed.
- Approximately two minutes before shots were fired, the USSS Security Room, located on the rally grounds, was told that there was an individual on the roof of the AGR building.
- Shortly before shots were fired, a USSS Counter Sniper observed local officers running towards the AGR building with guns drawn.
Read the interim report (133 pages).
Related Files
Transcribed Interview, USSS Assistant Director For The Office of Protective Operations
Transcribed Interview, USSS Special Agent in Charge, Pittsburgh Field Office
More To The Story
The same day as the HSGAC report was issued, there were several related breaking news items.
That morning, the Trump campaign announced they've received a briefing from the direction of national intelligence of active plots against the former president's life being orchestrated by Iran.
"President Trump was briefed earlier today by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence regarding real and specific threats from Iran to assassinate him in an effort to destabilize and sow chaos in the United States," a Sept. 24 press release from the campaign states.
The campaign also said, "Intelligence officials have identified that these continued and coordinated attacks have heightened in the past few months, and law enforcement officials across all agencies are working to ensure President Trump is protected and the election is free from interference."
"Make no mistake, the terror regime in Iran loves the weakness of Kamala Harris, and is terrified of the strength and resolve of President Trump. He will let nothing stop him or get in his way to fight for the American people and to Make America Great Again," said Trump Campaign Communications Director Steven Cheung.
Iran has already been identified as perpetrating the hack on the Trump campaign and sending the information it gained to the Biden-Harris campaign.
In a Sept. 18 statement, Trump's campaign National Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a statement calling for Harris and Biden to "come clean" about what they knew and when they knew it.
“This is further proof the Iranians are actively interfering in the election to help Kamala Harris and Joe Biden because they know President Trump will restore his tough sanctions and stand against their reign of terror," Leavitt said. "Kamala and Biden must come clean on whether they used the hacked material given to them by the Iranians to hurt President Trump. What did they know and when did they know it?”
Also on Sept. 24, would-be assassin Ryan Routh of Greensboro, North Carolina, was charged with the attempted assassination of Trump.
Read the updated indictment here. Routh's son, Oran, was also arrested by federal agents on child pornography charges the same day. Read Oran Routh's complaint here.
Additionally, the news broke that an Idaho man was being charged with making threats to Trump's life. Warren Jones Crazybull, age 64, of Sandpoint, Idaho, made at least nine phone calls to Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence threatening to kill the former president.
In at least one call, Crazybull said he was coming to the Trump National Golf Course to kill him.
Crazybull was arrested in Montana on Aug. 1, the complaint against him was filed on Aug. 2, and he was indicted in Idaho federal court on Aug. 20 with a trial date set for Oct. 28.
Per the complaint, Crazybull admitted to being in a psychiatric ward at some point but also said that "he was not taking any psychiatric medication at the time of interview." The complaint doesn't indicate if he was supposed to be on any medications.
If convicted, for each count Crazybull could receive five years in prison and a $250,000 fine plus 3 years of supervised probation upon release.
Last month, on Aug. 22, a manhunt began for Ronald Syvrud of Arizona after he made specific threats on social media to kill Trump. The former president was in Arizona on campaign business that day and only found out about the threat when a media outlet asked him about it.
"I haven't heard about that. They probably want to keep it from me," Trump said when asked about the reported Syvrud threats and manhunt.
Syvrud had a listed address in Benson, Arizona. He had outstanding warrants in Graham County, Arizona, for a hit and run and failing to register as a sex offender, as well as in Wisconsin for DUI and failure to appear for DUI.
Today, Sept. 26, the House Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump is currently holding its first live hearing.
Mr. Edward Lenz: Sergeant, Adams Township Police Department, Commander, Butler County Emergency Services Unit
Mr. Drew Blasko: Patrolman, Butler Township Police Department
Mr. John D. Herold: Lieutenant, Pennsylvania State Police
Mr. Patrick Sullivan: Former United States Secret Service Agent
Dr. Ariel Goldschmidt: Medical Examiner, Allegheny County, Pa.
View the hearing on the Task Force's YouTube Channel.
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