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Newly-released bodycam footage has captured the aftermath of the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, revealing law enforcement officers discussing how the gunman was on their radar before he opened fire.
The graphic video was released by Senator Chuck Grassley on Tuesday night, as both Democratic and Republican lawmakers continue to demand answers over the shooting that left one rallygoer dead, two injured and the former president narrowly escaping death.
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned on Tuesday amid staunch criticism of the agency’s response that day, just hours before Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Christopher Paris’ revealed in dramatic congressional testimony that an officer came face-to-face with gunman Thomas Crooks “minutes not seconds” before the shooting.
Trump himself has questioned why Secret Service agents didn’t delay his appearance on stage while the threat was investigated and three investigations into the security failures have been launched by the Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General.
Now, the newly-obtained graphic video has shone further light on how law enforcement agents at the rally site in Butler, Pennsylvania, were aware of a suspicious person in the lead up to the attack – but failed to stop him in time.
The footage shows various agents and police officers standing over Crooks’ body on the rooftop of the building which he had scaled to get a direct vantage point of the presidential candidate on stage. A rifle is seen lying close by.
“This is the guy,” one agent is heard saying, to which others confirm.
The agents are heard discussing that a sniper had spotted an individual getting off a bike and putting a backpack down.
His photo was taken and sent to the other authorities on the scene – but officers lost sight of the suspect in the crowd.
The officers are heard confirming that Crooks is the man in the photo.
“Yes, this is him,” one officer says.
An agent says that the bike is now being treated as “a suspicious device” before revealing that two people seen filming the incident had been detained in the rally crowd.
“Maybe they were involved, maybe they weren’t,” an officer says.
“The guys that saw them said they were filming us, then filming the guy on the roof, then filming us. When the shots started firing they tried to run away, isn’t that what everyone would do that had a phone? I’m not saying they were involved or they weren’t involved but I got no problem detaining them.”
He adds: “I just want to detain those guys, find out what they know, who they are whatever. I’m trying to get clear information to relay back to DC.”
Investigators have since said that they do not believe anyone else was involved in the assassination attempt and that 20-year-old Crooks acted alone.
Sharing the footage on X, Grassley called for “transparency” and “detailed answers” from the Secret Service.
“SENSITIVE CONTENT: July 13 Bodycam footage provides more info than Secret Service will share w America We NEED detailed answers ASAP on security failures TRANSPARENCY BRINGS ACCOUNTABILITY,” he wrote, adding that the footage had been obtained from the Beaver County Emergency Services Unit.
Trump has described his survival as a “miracle” after a bullet appeared to missed him by mere inches as he moved his head at just the right moment during his campaign speech.
While Trump was struck in the ear, he quickly leaped to the ground and Secret Service agents rushed on stage to protect him.
Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old former fire chief attending the rally with his family, was killed as he threw his body over his loved ones to protect them from the shooter’s spray of bullets. Two other rallygoers – David Dutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74 – were hospitalized.
Agents returned fire on the gunman, shooting him dead at the scene.
The motive for the attack remains unclear with investigators so far finding no signs of a political ideological motive and confirming he was not known to law enforcement prior to the day of the shooting.
However, many questions remain around whether the shooter could have been stopped before he opened fire.
In a fiery House Oversight Committee hearing on Monday – one day before her resignation – Cheatle admitted that the failed assassination marks the “most significant operational failure” by the Secret Service in decades.
