A year ago, a sniper’s bullets shattered a Pennsylvania rally, targeting then-candidate Donald Trump. On July 13, 2024, in Butler, Thomas Crooks climbed a building, fired into the crowd, and left a trail of tragedy. The incident still haunts, with unanswered questions and exposed Secret Service failures fueling outrage, as Just the News reports.
The attack wounded Trump and claimed the life of Corey Comperatore, a local fire chief. Investigations reveal a preventable disaster, marked by shoddy planning and ignored threats. Congressional probes and federal reports point to a cascade of errors that let Crooks slip through.
Thomas Crooks scaled an unsecured building to launch his attack. The Secret Service left the site vulnerable, allowing unvetted crowds to gather nearby. This oversight gave Crooks the perfect perch to evade law enforcement and fire at will.
A bipartisan House task force, wrapping up in December 2024, called the attack preventable. “The tragic and shocking events in Butler, Pennsylvania, were preventable and should not have happened,” the task force declared. Yet, the Secret Service’s failure to secure a high-risk area handed Crooks his opportunity.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) is spearheading a Senate investigation. He has issued subpoenas to the FBI and Justice Department, demanding security footage and forensic reports. “We want to see all that evidence,” Johnson said, slamming agencies for stonewalling transparency.
Johnson’s frustration is palpable, and rightly so. The FBI holds records from hundreds of interviews, yet only a fraction have been shared. His “friendly subpoena” aims to force accountability, but the public deserves more than bureaucratic dodging.
A Government Accountability Office report, released earlier this month, exposed deeper rot. Senior Secret Service officials knew of a threat to Trump 10 days prior, but siloed communication kept local law enforcement in the dark. This disconnect left security plans fatally flawed.
The Secret Service’s failures weren’t just sloppy -- they were foreseeable. Johnson’s committee found issues in planning, communication, and resource allocation. These weren’t minor hiccups; they were systemic breakdowns that cost a life and nearly more.
Local law enforcement wasn’t given clear roles, worsening the chaos. Coordination between federal, state, and local agencies was a mess, with unaddressed “siloed communications” creating gaps. The result? Crooks exploited every weakness.
Shockingly, no supervisors faced discipline for the debacle. Instead, agents such as Nick Menster and Nick Olszewski got promotions. Menster now guards Lara and Eric Trump, while Olszewski oversees accountability -- irony at its finest.
At least six agents were suspended without pay, but none were fired. Deputy Director Matt Quinn insists the agency won’t “fire our way out of this.” Fixing “root causes” sounds noble, but promoting those tied to failure raises eyebrows.
Quinn’s claim that the Secret Service is “totally accountable” rings hollow. A year later, communication and process issues remain unresolved. Accountability shouldn’t mean business as usual while the public waits for answers.
Johnson’s team conducted two dozen interviews with the Secret Service, but the FBI’s trove of data remains locked away. “We’d like to see the body cam video,” Johnson said, demanding evidence the public has a right to see. Stonewalling only deepens distrust in federal agencies.
The House task force pinpointed the unsecured building as a glaring vulnerability. Crooks evaded detection, climbed the roof, and opened fire because no one bothered to lock down the site. This wasn’t bad luck -- it was negligence.
One year on, Crooks’ motives remain a mystery, and the Secret Service’s fixes are incomplete. The Butler tragedy exposed a broken system, yet the same agencies dodge scrutiny while promising reform. Americans deserve truth, not more red tape.
