Update: Thanks to ‘Rogue Rose’ in the comments, we have an interesting new update. So, keep reading to the end.
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We have been talking for the last three days about the failures of security that led to an attempted assassination of the once and future president, Donald Trump, but holy schnikes this is bad:
BREAKING: Trump's attempted assassin was spotted 30 MINUTES before on the roof, and was reported as suspicious
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) July 15, 2024
An officer took a photo of him at 5:45https://t.co/NsmGktDdYJ
The article itself has video but we can’t seem to embed it. Still, we will share their jaw dropping reporting first by quoting from the article:
BUTLER, Pa. — Channel 11 News uncovered dramatic new details Monday in the moments leading up to the assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump. According to multiple law enforcement sources, Thomas Crooks was spotted by law enforcement on a roof nearly 30 minutes before shots were fired that injured Trump, killed a former fire chief and injured two others in the crowd.
Channel 11′s Nicole Ford confirmed that Beaver County’s ESU team had eight members at the rally, including snipers and spotters. According to Ford’s sources, one of them noticed a suspicious man on a roof near the rally at 5:45 p.m., called it in and took a picture of the person. We have learned from our sources the person in that picture is Thomas Crooks. We’re told it’s not clear if Crooks had a gun with him at that point.
For the next details, we will transcribe the video:
Then at 5:45, just before the program was to begin, the same counter-sniper spotted Crooks again, this time on the roof. He took a second picture and called it into the command center. Twenty-Six minutes later those shots rang out…
...and then you know what happened next.
We admit we have no words to fully express our disbelief … that would be suitable for a Christian website. The acronym WTAF seems inadequate, but it’s the best we can do.
So, according to this report, they saw him on the roof from where he fired almost half an hour before he started shooting and, somehow, they didn’t stop him?
Gross negligence is the best explanation for this security failure. And the worst explanation is a deliberate decision to neglect Donald Trump’s safety. That is the range of explanations. There is no version of events where everyone involved did a good job. Indeed, if we were Trump, we would consider hiring our own heavily armed security.
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It is worth noting that this reporting also fits in with what Susan Crabtree told us about security failures on Saturday:
New compilation of my reporting over the last 24 hours: Secret Service in Crisis: Inflexible Protocols, Security Lapses in Spotlight | RealClearPolitics https://t.co/kz14SjeZbl
— Susan Crabtree (@susancrabtree) July 15, 2024
The article goes over a number of reasons why security utterly failed on Saturday, including allegations that protection was diverted away from Trump to protect the First Lady and the Vice President—something we previously covered here. From Crabtree’s article:
Several sources within the Secret Service community told RealClearPolitics they are furious about the failures and blamed agency management, not the agents and counter snipers on the ground, all of whom they said performed admirably.
Their point is that the ‘boots on the ground’ Secret Service agents didn’t screw up. The bureaucrats above caused any and all problems on Saturday. They go through many factors and they all deserve to be investigated, but we want to focus on the rules of engagement:
A source within the Secret Service community told RCP that the agency’s rules of engagement in this situation are for a counter sniper who suspects an armed threat to radio the lead agent in charge and wait for a green light or wait until the president is fired upon to return fire.
So … unless the lead agent gives the go ahead, a would-be assassin gets a free shot at Trump.
There are other people in the article that deny this …
But others suggested that that policy may apply only to the White House, and that counter snipers are allowed to fire upon armed targets threatening the president.
… but we ask you this: What lines up with what did happen, according to the report shared by End Wokeness? Apparently, a counter-sniper called in the murderer’s presence on the roof, he took a picture of him, he called it in, and somehow no one was able to stop the killer before he shot Trump and murdered an innocent bystander? Even if the Secret Service were not sure if he was armed, how were they not able to confront the killer on the roof for twenty-six minutes? Do they not have ladders?
And we will note that the law doesn’t require you to let a would-be killer take a free shot, like Greedo in the 'special edition' of the original Star Wars. Law enforcement—including the Secret Service—always has at least the same right to use deadly force as any ordinary citizen. And when can you use force to defend another person?
Well, let’s start with when you can defend yourself. Pennsylvania law codifies the law of lethal self-defense under 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 505 as follows:
The use of deadly force is not justifiable under this section unless the actor believes that such force is necessary to protect himself against death, serious bodily injury, kidnapping or sexual intercourse compelled by force or threat;
Notice that the threat doesn’t have to necessarily be real. The person using force merely has to believe it is justified and the courts have regularly held that the belief has to be reasonable considering all of the circumstances known at the time.
So, imagine if Donald Trump saw Thomas Matthew Crooks on the rooftop, pointing a gun at him, and Trump pulled out his own sniper rifle and shot Crooks first. It’s an admittedly outlandish scenario, but let’s play pretend. That would be a ‘clean kill.’ Trump saw a situation that suggested that Crooks was trying to kill him, and hypothetically reacted faster, shooting him first. That is completely legal under Pennsylvania law.
(So, if Han shot Greedo first in Pennsylvania, it wouldn’t have been a crime.)
That is true even if in our Trump-shoots-first hypothetical, the Secret Service examined Crooks’ gun after the fact and discovered there were no bullets in it. The reality is not what controls the legality but what Trump would reasonably perceive to be the situation, without the benefit of hindsight.
And for the record, while Pennsylvania has a duty to retreat, it states that it only applies if ‘the actor knows that he can avoid the necessity of using such force with complete safety by retreating.’ More than likely, Trump couldn’t have run away in complete safety.
Why are we going on about personal self-defense as opposed to the defense of others? Because under 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 506, the law says what you can do to defend yourself, you can do to defend others. Previously, we covered a video of an eyewitness, a regular citizen, who says he saw the murderer ‘bear walk’ into position before firing. If that citizen happened to be armed and shot at Crooks as he set up to shoot at Trump, the law would say he is justified, too.
And as we said a few paragraphs back, law enforcement always has at least the same right to use deadly force as any ordinary person. In fact, they have rights and powers on that subject that ordinary citizens don’t.
So, if one of those counter-snipers saw Crooks setting up with a gun and lowering it to aim at our Outlaw President, the counter-sniper could legally shoot him for the same reason that Donald Trump or any ordinary citizen could have. So, based on this reporting, it is inexcusable that no one shot Crooks before he shot at Trump. And if someone tied the counter-sniper’s hands behind his or her back, that person should be fired.
Was the officer only armed with a freaking camera?
— FilmLadd (@FilmLadd) July 15, 2024
What is this, like those weirdos who say they're hunting wildlife but they only bring a camera? https://t.co/7oHKZOIgLS
— Matt’s Idea Shop (@MattsIdeaShop) July 15, 2024
Yeah and people saying he was only there for a few minutes…
— Mickamious (@MickamiousG) July 15, 2024
Like seriously, come on, this was an inside setup.
The roof should have been covered, it wasn’t
This was a major security lapse that could have only happened due to someone being on the inside
Had they been on more top of it they could’ve saved Corey’s life
— Yodeez (@Yodeez896589) July 15, 2024
They should be ashamed
Exactly. We are sorry Trump got shot in the ear, but he’ll recover. Corey Comperatore will not. Law enforcement was there primarily to protect Trump, but they also were supposed to keep everyone safe and they failed.
“Took a photo” ….wowwww!!!!
— Mark Lang (@MLDonk) July 15, 2024
It sounds like the counter-sniper might have been taking the photo to show to a supervisor, in an effort to get approval to fire.
Trump should have NEVER been allowed to take the stage with "a suspicious person" within even 500 yards of that podium. Everyone with a brain can see what happened here and they should FIRE THEM ALL! Clean house!
— Kim Westerberg (@KimWesterberg) July 15, 2024
That is also a good point. Trump hadn’t even started speaking when they saw the sniper on the roof.
Kid of the roof was positioned there to be shot and take the fall. There was a second shooter. I advise looking at the water tower to the patsy's left.
— Gen Belisarius (@GenBelisarius) July 15, 2024
We are skeptical of that theory because then that would mean two people missed.
30 MINUTES! https://t.co/TyQTAR3vOL pic.twitter.com/OI8mghlcfk
— Prison Mitch (@MidnightMitch) July 15, 2024
Even an inside job would go to lengths to make it look more challenging to shoot a president. The answer here is extreme, historic levels of incompetence. https://t.co/mssc4RHhKW
— BWH (@BWH85) July 15, 2024
We’re not sure we are ready to commit to ‘incompetence’ as the explanation. Let’s not forget that the same Secret Service is denying protection to Robert Kennedy, Jr. The Secret Service is supposed to be the ultimate Joe Friday types: No BS, no games, no politics, just playing it straight. But the RFK Jr. episode suggests that they are letting politics creep in, at least at the top.
This is definitely not starting to sound like a conspiracy. https://t.co/97h5mDJpsh
— Ian McKelvey (@ian_mckelvey) July 15, 2024
I'd bet that they helped him up there. pic.twitter.com/lZ6AEl3Xse
— 𝙲𝚘𝚠𝚋𝚘𝚢 𝙿𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 (@Outlaw_Memes) July 15, 2024
That last second head tilt saved Donald Trump's life.pic.twitter.com/ws4XGkARdT
— मैं हूँ Sanatani 🇮🇳 🚩🚩 (@DesiSanatani) July 15, 2024
Some are saying God literally saved Trump. We are always cautious with such claims, but this author is a Christian who believes in an omnipotent and loving God, so literally anything is possible.
You are responsible for your own safety pic.twitter.com/eGJzVJpIWB
— Liberty NH 🦔⚡️🌲 (@NHpilled) July 15, 2024
I’m sticking with what I think: that a phone call was made to Washington to report there’s a guy with a rifle and they were told to stand down and see if he shoots President Trump, then fire. Trying to get President Trump eliminated. 🤬🤬 ▶️ https://t.co/X2LDBs0f0v pic.twitter.com/ll3yKCkP8L
— HardRight (@TrumpsLoyal1) July 15, 2024
We wish we could say that was impossible.
I hear he had a pizza delivered, too.
— Jerry Curlan (@WorkforLife3) July 15, 2024
We admit it. We chuckled darkly at that one.
***
Update: ‘Rogue Rose’ in the comments points out a detail we had missed in the reporting. Earlier we asked:
Even if the Secret Service were not sure if he was armed, how were they not able to confront the killer on the roof for twenty-six minutes? Do they not have ladders?
Rose points us toward this coverage from PBS:
On the heels of an attempt to kill him, former President Donald Trump called for unity and resilience as shocked leaders across the political divide recoiled from the shooting that left him wounded but “fine.”https://t.co/6SLuBk2XVo
— PBS News (@NewsHour) July 14, 2024
From the article:
The gunman had his father’s AR-style rifle and was perched atop a nearby roof when some rallygoers pointed him out to local law enforcement, said two law enforcement officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing criminal probe.
A local law enforcement officer climbed to the roof and found Crooks, who pointed the rifle at the officer. The officer then retreated down the ladder, and the gunman quickly fired toward Trump, the officials said. That’s when U.S. Secret Service gunmen shot him, the officials said.
So how was it that even when Crooks was threatening a fellow law enforcement officer—if this account is accurate—that they didn’t just shoot Crooks immediately? How is it that the no one thought they were justified in using deadly force even after Crooks threatened a law enforcement officer? Why did they wait until he actually shot at Trump?
Seriously, if this account is to be believed, it sounds even more like they were following the exact rules of engagement we mentioned above, that essentially gives a would-be assassin a free shot at the target. If that is true, that is absolute madness.
In any case, thanks to ‘Rose’ for pointing this out. Sometimes it really pays to comment on our posts, which you can only do if you are a VIP member. And, hey, did we mention we are having a sale on VIP memberships right now? So maybe consider getting one and joining our vibrant conversation. You might also be able to help us as we try to sort things out.
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