Concerns Arise Over Shooting Events in Butler, Pennsylvania

Former State Department official Mike Benz expressed serious concerns on Fox News regarding the shooting incident in Butler, Pennsylvania. He questioned whether federal law enforcement had a more significant role in the events than was reported initially.

It’s been a year since former President Donald Trump was shot at a rally in Butler. During an appearance on The Will Cain Show, Benz mentioned that the lack of transparency surrounding the case has left many important questions unanswered.

“I wonder if a con man has been cultivated or if federal law enforcement is monitoring him, potentially interacting with him,” Benz stated. “The complete lack of transparency feels counterintuitive for a surveillance state. Most people think that if federal law enforcement is trying to get a phone, they could easily cut off communication. I just, well, I don’t know if he was in contact with a foreign government, for example.”

Benz has raised concerns that the investigation into the Butler shooting could go beyond just the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), hinting that agencies like the National Security Agency (NSA) might also be involved in deciphering encrypted communications.

“This might extend beyond the FBI and DHS,” he suggested. “I understand the NSA is capable of cracking this kind of thing. There was also a whistleblower report, I believe from Josh Hawley, mentioning that Homeland Security Investigations replaced several Secret Service agents that day, as the Secret Service was reportedly divided between the NATO Summit and Jill Biden.”

Benz referred to a troubling sequence of events leading up to the shooting. “It’s strange that the Secret Service turned down around ten requests for additional security from the Trump campaign before the shooting. There’s a weird convergence of factors here that don’t seem to serve the American public well,” he said. “I believe we need some sort of transparency task force to tackle these critical questions about HSI and the potential recruitment of informants, like the content of a relevant phone call.”

A report from September 2024 highlighted whistleblower claims concerning security failures by the Secret Service during the assassination attempt on Trump in Butler. Republican Senator Josh Hawley released this report, bringing to light private allegations about numerous hurdles faced by DHS and the Secret Service.

According to the whistleblower, the agent responsible for security at the Butler Rally had failed a critical exam during federal training and was described as “silent.” Additionally, the Secret Service’s intelligence reporting unit lacked proper organization, which led to communication failures between law enforcement agencies.

A senior official from the US Secret Service acknowledged a “classified threat” to Trump’s life just ten days before the assassination attempt on July 13, 2024, but did not inform the agents assigned to protect him. A report from the government’s Accountability Office revealed on Sunday that crucial information shared with Secret Service leadership never reached the field team due to “siloed practices for sharing classified information.”