Recriminations between local law enforcement and Secret Service agents over who is to blame for former President Donald Trump getting shot and almost killed are flying back and forth, some publicly and some behind-the-scenes, as investigations into what happened get underway.
Local law enforcement snipers on the Beaver County Emergency Services Unit (ESU), the county’s SWAT team, were assigned to secure the outside perimeter that included the American Glass Research building that Crooks climbed atop of.
Some Secret Service agents believe Beaver County law enforcement snipers would have seen 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks crawl onto the rooftop and get into position to fire at former President Donald Trump had they stayed at their posts — which were reportedly windows that overlooked the rooftop.
Videos released publicly show the windows where the snipers were supposed to be stationed that would have given them a clear view of where Crooks climbed to fire at Trump.
According to conservative podcast host Benny Johnson, local law enforcement snipers were not at their positions at the windows because one team member went home early, another one left his position to investigate after being notified that a suspicious individual — Crooks — was lurking outside the building, and the third went to go let the other sniper in after he forgot his access card into the building.
Johnson posted on X:
There was a three man SWAT sniper team located in this position. One member of the team went home early — not sure how this was allowed but it happened. The remaining two snipers positioned in this room were notified that a suspicious individual [Crooks] was lurking outside the building. One team member left his position to investigate, leaving just one sniper with overwatch of the roof.
The investigating team member found nothing and in the process of returning to his position realized he had forgotten his access card into the building. The last remaining sniper with overwatch LEFT [!!!] the position to retrieve his team member locked outside.
Crooks crawled across the roof and fired on Trump while this fully-equipped sniper nest with a perfect view of Crooks assassin position was left completely UNMANNED.
Johnson suggested Secret Service — who was in charge of the overall security plan for the event — was to blame for not leaving local law enforcement on the roof, allegedly allowing the local snipers to leave their posts, and not putting someone on a nearby water tower.
It is not clear who approved the Beaver County ESU snipers being inside the building versus on the rooftop.
Former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle in an interview with ABC News on July 16, 2024, said “the decision was made to secure the building from inside,” but did not say who made the decision. She cited the safety factor of a “sloped” roof.
She later testified on July 22, 2024, that there was “overwatch provided” for the roof, but would not say who was responsible for the overwatch.
“What I can tell you is that there was a plan in place to provide overwatch and we are still looking into responsibilities and who was going to provide overwatch,” Cheatle told House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY). She later told Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), “There was overwatch provided for that rooftop,” but refused to provide the names of those who were responsible for the overwatch. “I’m not going to provide their names in this setting,” she said.
Former Secret Service agent and conservative talk show host Dan Bongino said on his show on July 18, 2024, that the snipers were inside the building because they believed they could provide overwatch from the second floor of the building, but it was not clear who decided that.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) has said a whistleblower told him at least one individual was “specifically assigned” to the rooftop that Crooks had crawled atop of for the “duration of the rally,” but that that individual “abandoned his or her post due to the hot weather.” The whistleblower also said the heat prompted law enforcement to forego patrolling the building the shooter climbed atop of and “instead station security personnel inside the building.”
Allegations related to the heat were first raised by a former Air Force pararescue jumper and podcast host Brian Kimber on X.
The Beaver County ESU, including the snipers, have gone public in defending themselves, granting an exclusive interview to ABC News on Sunday. They said they never got a face-to-face briefing with Secret Service members that day, or had any contact with Secret Service until after the shooting.
“We were supposed to get a face-to-face briefing with the Secret Service members whenever they arrived, and that never happened,” Jason Woods, team leader for Beaver County’s ESU and SWAT sniper section, told ABC News. “So I think that was probably a pivotal point, where I started thinking things were wrong because it never happened. We had no communication.”
Woods also reportedly called the event an “away game,” meaning that his team was not in charge and that they were deferring to Secret Service agents to determine the security plan. “I knew the Secret Service knew where we were supposed to be, and that’s where we were placed,” he said.
Beaver County SWAT leader Mike Priolo told ABC News, “Our instructions, marching orders were given to us from Butler County EMS unit, their command. With, historically speaking, approval from the Secret Service.”
Priolo also cited the “lack of patrol that we’d seen in the area” as their “first indication that there was something different about this,” and that the effect was that SWAT officers would have to personally handle any urgent patrol-level incident that should arise.
“The best analogy I’ve heard is — we’re a scalpel, when you’re asking us to be used as a hammer,” he said. “That’s kind of what we figured out throughout the day.”
The Washington Post reported that local law enforcement allegedly told Secret Service that they did not have enough manpower for a patrol outside of the building.
There have been multiple other reasons given as to why the Beaver County ESU snipers were not at their posts.
One of the Beaver County ESU snipers assigned to one of the second story posts, Sgt. Gregory Nicol, claimed to ABC News he “moved through the building trying to shadow Crooks, who was outside, and keep eyes on him” and lost sight of Crooks as he “made his way down to the building’s first level.” He said by that time, Trump had taken the stage.
Nichol indicated he was still downstairs as the former president began speaking. He said he noticed rallygoers looking away from the podium, up toward the roof of the AGR building and that some were shouting that someone was up there. Nicol told ABC News he was almost relieved, thinking to himself, “Oh, they must have found this guy we were looking for out there, and everybody’s watching the police deal with him.”
“That’s when I heard the gunshots,” he said.
Another reason was given to Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) as to why Nichol went downstairs, according to the senator’s preliminary findings. “AGR sniper 1” — Nicol — went to the ground floor of the building “to meet local law enforcement patrol to alert them to Crooks presence.”
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