According to the Wall Street Journal, the man who attempted to assassinate President Trump, Thomas Matthew Crooks, reportedly flew a drone over the Pennsylvania venue hours before the event.
Law enforcement officials have been briefed on the matter. Said The outlet reported Friday that Crooks had flown the drone on a programmed flight path that allowed him to capture aerial footage of the rally site hours before the July 13 rally. Authorities noted that the pre-determined flight path likely allowed Crooks to fly the drone multiple times to survey and investigate the area. (RELATED: 'You owe President Trump an answer!': Video of Republican senators confronting Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle)
The new findings add to the agency's growing list of security failings as Republican lawmakers seek clarification in the assassination attempt on former President and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Police officers work during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
In her first interview since the attack, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle gave to ABC News Supreme Court correspondent Pierre Thomas on Monday, calling the incident “unacceptable” and saying she “takes responsibility for it.”
“The responsibility rests with me. I am the director of the Secret Service and I need to investigate and provide resources to my personnel as necessary,” Cheatle told ABC News. “This is unacceptable and should never happen again.”
Crooks fired multiple shots at Trump and the crowd of his supporters from an elevated position on top of a shed outside the Secret Service range.
But local police found the 20-year-old about 30 minutes before the attack, an anonymous law enforcement source told WPXI. According to the Associated Press, local officers climbed onto the roof to find Crooks, but the 20-year-old pointed a weapon at officers, forcing them to climb down a ladder and retreat.
During a Wednesday meeting with lawmakers at the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the Secret Service and FBI confirmed that Crooks had been identified about 50 minutes before the attack. Later, Republican Sens. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and John Barrasso of Wyoming were both recorded confronting Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle about the issue.
Blackburn can be heard scolding Cheatle, asking why authorities knew “an hour ago” there was a “potential threat” against Trump but did not deal with Crooks and instead allowed the former president to take to the stage.
The FBI and Secret Service did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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