WASHINGTON — Pennsylvania’s top police officer on Tuesday answered questions from lawmakers seeking details about how the Secret Service and state and local law enforcement communicated as a gunman tried to assassinate former President Donald Trump, killing one rallygoer and wounding two others in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Lawmakers were horrified to learn that state police had given the Secret Service a tip about a male suspect with a rangefinder about 20 to 25 minutes before the July 13 shooting, and his photo had been texted to a phone number provided by the federal agency.
The hours-long hearing before the U.S. House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee came as lawmakers continued to investigate how an agency tasked with protecting the country’s current and former leaders could allow a 20-year-old armed with a rifle to reach the roof of a building so close to Trump.
Committee hearing was still ongoing when Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned Tuesday after days of outrage over the agency’s failure to stop the shooter before he fired multiple shots, wounding the former president’s right ear. The shots came just as Trump turned his head.
Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Col. Christopher Paris testified that in the lead-up to Trump’s speech in Butler, authorities were responding to several simultaneous incidents — heat-related illnesses among attendees, the disappearance of a 6-year-old — and were also keeping an eye on four suspicious individuals, including Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, who was later killed by a Secret Service countersniper and identified as the shooter.
Paris said he could not provide specific details about what happened, but told lawmakers that two Butler County Emergency Medical Services officers who were monitoring the area, including the roof, left their post to look for the man who was spotted with the rangefinder.
Alert sent
Pennsylvania State Police sent an alert and a photo of the man to the Secret Service at a phone number the federal agency shared with state authorities, Paris said.
The commission’s chairman, Mark Green, a Tennessee Republican, said he was “completely surprised” that federal law enforcement failed to heed the warning and shut down the event.
“It’s interesting that this guy is so suspicious, he’s got a rangefinder, they leave the station they’re manning to look for him, and yet the Secret Service, they find out 20 to 25 minutes beforehand, but (they) still let the president on stage,” Green said. “But again, there’s more detail to be had.”
Representative Dan Bishop, a Republican from North Carolina, said the agency had made a “colossal failure.”
Trump ‘secure’ after Butler rally shooting; one spectator and shooting suspect killed
State police responded to the area July 11 and were told by the Secret Service that Butler County ESU would be responsible for monitoring the roof where the gunman was sitting several days later, Paris said.
According to Paris, the “lead agency” was the Secret Service.
Paris told the committee that his agency’s role in supporting federal law enforcement during visits by the president and other key figures is “routine” and that his force “provided the Secret Service with everything they asked for.”
Cooperation with the FBI
Paris told lawmakers that his agency is currently investigating “in parallel and jointly with” the FBI into the killing of former local fire chief Corey Comperatore and the attempted killings of two other bystanders. As is routine in officer-involved shootings, state police are also investigating the killing of Crooks by a Secret Service countersniper.
“I can tell you that the Pennsylvania State Police will fully cooperate with this investigation,” Paris said in his opening statement. He said he would provide the commission with answers that would not affect the investigation.
Paris also told lawmakers that the Secret Service has not yet provided the state police with a detailed day-to-day operational plan for the ongoing investigation.
Communication concerns
Democratic Rep. Lou Correa of California questioned how different agencies are using real-time messaging technology to communicate with each other and said he worries about possible setbacks as the November election approaches.
“Pennsylvania is a battleground state. This is going to happen again,” Correa said. “And to know that we don’t have the facts, let alone a plan to fix the holes, is unacceptable to our democracy, to our country.”
Patrick Yoes, national president of the Fraternal Order of Police, emphasized the importance of interagency communications and said the platform, called FirstNet, was developed after 9/11 in response to communication gaps.
“The infrastructure is there, but it’s not always used for every event,” Yoes said, adding that he could not provide specific details about the announcements on July 13.
“We’re not where we need to be yet,” said Bennie Thompson, a Democrat from Mississippi.
“I stood on this roof”
Homeland Security lawmakers visited the site of the failed attack on Monday and climbed onto the roof to see for themselves how close Crooks managed to get to the scene.
At Tuesday’s hearing, Rep. Eli Crane of Arizona presented a video he recorded from the roof.
“It’s not that steep. We had a 70-year-old man who just climbed onto the roof,” he said, revealing that Rep. Carlos Giménez of Florida was standing behind him.
Earlier during questioning, Giménez said: “I stood on that roof and yes, I am 70 years old.”
The Florida Republican’s age was cited several times as a reference point in Cheatle’s comments last week, in which he said the roof’s slope posed too great a risk to station Secret Service officers there.
Cheatle said ABC news July 16 that the slope of the roof was a “safety factor” in the decision to place law enforcement officers inside the building rather than on top.
When asked for his thoughts on Cheatle’s comments, Paris replied that he “can’t agree” with the decision.
Cheatle had to face almost five hours hearing on Capitol Hill on Mondayand top lawmakers on the Oversight and Accountability Committee he called on her to resign.
Bilateral Task Force
US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries announced on Tuesday that they will establish a commission to determine “what went wrong on the day of the attempted attack.”
The Louisiana Republican Party and New York Democratic Party issued a joint press release detailing plans to establish a commission that will be composed of seven Republicans and six Democrats and will also make recommendations on legislation and policy.
“The security failures that enabled the attempted assassination of Donald Trump are shocking,” House leaders said. “The task force will be authorized to issue subpoenas and will move quickly to establish the facts, ensure accountability, and make sure such mistakes never happen again.”
Republican Rep. Mike Kelly, who represents the Butler area, introduced the resolution creating the task force and attended Tuesday’s hearing.
