House Committee Releases New Report On Trump Rally
The recent interim findings from the House Task Force investigating the deadly July 13 shooting at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, paint a troubling picture of disorganization and miscommunication between the Secret Service (USSS) and local law enforcement, leading to a tragic and, according to the report, “preventable” incident.
While former President Donald Trump survived the assassination attempt, suffering a bullet graze to his ear, the attack claimed the life of one attendee, injured two others, and has since ignited scrutiny over the coordination—or lack thereof—among security agencies tasked with protecting the event.
The Task Force’s interim report, set to be followed by a final version in December, does not mince words in its criticism of the planning and execution of security measures. According to the 51-page document, USSS personnel failed to clearly communicate with local authorities about how to manage security outside the designated “hard perimeter.”
In a glaring oversight, no central meeting between the USSS and the supporting law enforcement agencies occurred the morning of the rally, a breakdown that contributed to the delayed response as a shooter took position outside the event’s perimeter.
The shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was observed behaving suspiciously by local law enforcement about 40 minutes before opening fire from a rooftop. However, critical delays in communication meant that warnings about Crooks’ behavior were not relayed to the USSS command post until it was too late. Although Crooks was eventually neutralized with a fatal shot—whether by a USSS counter-sniper or a Butler ESU officer remains in dispute—the damage had already been done.
The report notes several failures in coordination. Multiple local law enforcement agencies were not adequately briefed on their roles in the event, and Butler ESU snipers stationed at the event were never informed of any plans to monitor the building Crooks ultimately used as a vantage point.
The lack of communication was underscored by the fact that Butler police officers were excluded from the USSS’s own command hub and briefings, despite the critical role they would play in responding to security threats.
Perhaps most unsettling are the specifics that surfaced regarding Crooks’ movements in the minutes leading up to the attack. Three local officers, each independently assessing Crooks’ suspicious behavior, failed to escalate the issue in time due to a fractured communication chain. The report makes clear that the chaos that ensued—Crooks firing eight shots before being neutralized—was preventable with better coordination.
The political implications of the report are significant, as both parties in Congress have expressed concerns over the safety of future events. The investigation, which also extends to a second assassination attempt against Trump on September 15 at his West Palm Beach golf course, is far from over. However, this initial document underscores the urgent need for improvements in the cooperation and planning between federal, state, and local agencies when protecting high-profile political figures.