Task force: AGR International not secured
Information released by the task force investigating the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump said the U.S. Secret Service placed the American Glass Research International complex outside the secure perimeter for Trump’s July 13 rally at the Butler Farm Show grounds, meaning the crowd gathered there was not screened.
Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, shot Trump at the event while perched on the roof of AGR, grazing his ear with a bullet. Crooks also killed one man and injured two more rally attendees.
A 53-page preliminary report released by the task force Sunday, Oct. 20, said its investigation shows a clear lack of planning and coordination between the Secret Service and its law enforcement partners before the rally. The Secret Service did not give clear guidance to state and local agencies about managing areas outside the event perimeter, and there was no joint meeting the day of the rally, according to the report.
Additionally, while there was a local sniper team inside the AGR complex, its members understood their assignment to be overwatch of the rally site — not securing the AGR roof and property. Local sniper teams inside the AGR complex had a narrow field of vision and were not positioned to monitor the areas where the shooter was spotted, the report stated.
The report says a local law enforcement officer radioed that Crooks was on the AGR roof with a gun, but the message may not have reached Secret Service. Local law enforcement also may have shot Crooks after he fired eight rounds aimed at the crowd, before he was neutralized by a Secret Service countersniper. An autopsy showed Crooks died from a single gunshot wound to the head.
The report stated the failure to secure the AGR building contributed to the shooter’s ability to fire at the rally. The report also said there was no unified command post, but actually two command posts on the day of the event. The task force said the Secret Service command post could have accommodated more people, but key local law enforcement partners were in a separate trailer in another part of the farm show grounds. There also was no dedicated radio link between law enforcement in the two posts.
The task force also found that a ladder outside AGR International visible in photos and videos was placed there by law enforcement after the shooting. The shooter purchased a ladder on July 13, but he subsequently abandoned that ladder in a wooded area in Bethel Park.
As mentioned in the report, the findings released Sunday represent “Phase 1” of the task force’s investigation.
U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-16th, heads the 13-member task force. U.S. Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., is the ranking Democratic member on the task force.
The bipartisan task force has visited the farm show grounds twice, with members even climbing onto the roof of AGR International upon one visit to get a view of the rally site from the shooter’s perspective.
The task force also requested interviews and documents from federal agencies, including the Secret Service and the FBI, to gather information. The task force has received information from state police, and other Butler County agencies involved in the emergency response that day.
The task force asked state police in September for all body camera footage, recordings, internal inquiries, criminal inquiries, any emails or chat messages involving personnel, and operational plans they had for the 13 rally.
On Oct. 3, the task force requested documents and interviews from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives regarding assassination attempts on Trump, including the apparent assassination attempt Sept. 15 at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Fla.
The task force has a deadline of Dec. 13 to submit a final report on its findings to Congress.
The FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the Secret Service also have been tasked with investigating the assassination attempt on Trump.
