Local law enforcement officials draw attention to the inadequate leadership and communication during the initial attempt on Trump's life.
The former president was shot on July 13 and one rallygoer was died. Local law enforcement and a medical examiner testified before the House task committee tasked with looking into the near assassination of Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Local police testified at the court about the complex communication system that was in place that day, with many groups of policemen operating on different radios that were all disconnected from the Secret Service's dedicated channel.
The Senate's bipartisan committee exposed serious shortcomings in the Secret Service that day, including a deficiency in decision-making and leadership structure, the day before the hearing.
According to the report, these mistakes resulted in serious security shortcomings, such as the denial of resources and poor decision-making over who was in charge of certain parts of the event, including the complex of buildings that the gunman scaled.
Rather, the focus of the House task force hearing was on the activities of the local law enforcement that day. Witnesses included a medical examiner and an officer from the Pennsylvania State Police, in addition to a patrolman and sergeant from the local police department.
According to evidence on Thursday, calls about a man on the roof were routed via two distinct communication points and reached several channels just before Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire on Trump. The Secret Service agents on Trump's detail never received the calls.
Members also emphasized how, in contrast to regular cell phone connections, which were problematic for local authorities attempting to exchange early photos of Crooks, cell networks set up in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks were functioning smoothly.
Edward Lenz, the commander of the Butler County Emergency Services Unit, informed the task force that those systems, like FirstNet, which is designed to facilitate communication among emergency responders during critical situations, functioned that day.
Lenz stated, "They worked the entire time."
Representative Jared Moskowitz, a Democrat from Florida, pointed out that some cops were not able to access the images of Crooks that day 45 minutes prior to the shooting, but those who were connected to FirstNet were able to.
In order to protect Trump, Moskowitz stated, "We created a solution, and yet it's 2024, and we're still not implementing that solution at the highest levels of our security agencies."
Additionally, local cops attested to the absence of briefings with the Secret Service and the lack of guidance regarding specific coverage areas, such as the buildings that Crooks ascended
The task force has visited the Pennsylvania rally site before, met with and questioned local and federal officers involved in the security and follow-up investigations into that day. The task force was recently expanded by the House to include in its investigation the second attempt on Trump's life in Florida this month.
Though at first attributing the Butler disaster on local law enforcement, the Secret Service has consistently maintained that it bears complete responsibility for the agency's shortcomings on that day. But why local police were not able to stop Crooks from using a rifle to scale a group of surrounding buildings still remains a mystery, even after they had earlier warned of Crooks' presence on the rooftop and on the ground just before he opened fire. Shortly after the shooting, Secret Service agents shot and killed Crooks at the scene.
