Why did law enforcement not arrest Thomas Matthew Crooks before he was able to climb to a nearby rooftop and attempt to assassinate Donald Trump at the July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, Melania Trump asks in a new video.
"The attempt to end my husband’s life was a horrible, distressing experience. Now, the silence around it feels heavy," the former first lady said. "I can’t help but wonder why didn’t law enforcement officials arrest the shooter before the speech. There is definitely more to this story and we need to uncover the truth."
Related: Watchdog sues after DHS withholds records on Trump requests for increased Secret Service protection, September 10, 2024
WorldTribune.com reported on Aug. 9 that federal law-enforcement officials have said the Secret Service thought local law-enforcement officers, including snipers from the Butler County Emergency Services Unit, were supposed to secure the building from which Crooks fired.
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A local law-enforcement official involved in the event planning previously said the tactical team’s heads told the Secret Service during the walk-through that its snipers would be inside the building on its second floor.
In another video, an officer refers to a suspicious individual who had been lost by authorities. The unidentified officer referred to “a gentleman with a flat face that we were looking for earlier. He was creeping people out.”
The officer’s account, broadcast over radio, was captured on one of the body cameras. “He was watching people out in the woods by the water tower. I’m not sure he is the gentleman down or not.”
A video shows the officer who first spotted Crooks on the roof returning to the building after the shooting and scaling the roof again, this time meeting tactical officers standing over the body of Crooks. The officer said he tried to send out an alert to other officers via radio.
“Dude, I was calling out, ‘On top of the roof!’ ” the officer says. “Were you on the same frequency?”
https://t.co/ZCTwZSqZND pic.twitter.com/KKA6anTEYC
— MELANIA TRUMP (@MELANIATRUMP) September 10, 2024
