KNOWING, Pa. – Newly released transcripts of law enforcement communications at Trump's rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, show a communications structure that essentially isolated local and federal law enforcement from each other at key moments.
The communications reported Sunday by The Washington Post also highlight the effect that poor cell service in the rural Allegheny Valley allegedly had in preventing the transmission of key messages such as an officer's photo of then-suspect Thomas Crooks.
According to encrypted radio communications obtained by the newspaper, at 5:42 p.m. ET on July 13, a sniper from a local law enforcement agency alerted that a “younger white male” [with] A long-haired man had been “lurking” around the AGR glass company building adjacent to the Butler Farm exhibition grounds, but had since disappeared from view.
Within a half hour, that suspected individual, Thomas Crooks, would shoot former President Trump from the top of a low-rise building, killing a local firefighter in the process.
BUTLER LAWYER CRITICISES 'INAPPROPRIATE' TREATMENT OF LOCAL POLICE AFTER TRUMP INCIDENT: 'THROWED THEM UNDER THE BUS'
A flag is lowered to half-staff at the main entrance to the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pa., Monday, July 22, 2024. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
However, that local official's warning went unheeded by the U.S. Secret Service because the broadcast was to a trailer from which local police commanders were operating, separate from the president's team, the newspaper reported, citing Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger and a separate law enforcement source.
According to the Post, the police commander in the trailer called a Pennsylvania state trooper to relay the message.
There were at least three other key moments when mobile phone communications had to be transmitted in a venue where – as at sporting events – crowds often saturate the frequency.
The director of emergency services for neighboring Beaver County, which also staffed the event, told the newspaper that agencies should not be separated from each other and instead have representatives in “the same room.”
SENIOR DEMOCRAT WHO VISITED BUTLER SAYS LOCAL OFFICIALS TOLD HIM 'WE NEED TO TALK MORE' ABOUT USSS FAILURES
Rep. Glenn Ivey, left, speaks with Rep. Bennie Thompson in Butler, Pa., on July 22, 2024. A bipartisan group of lawmakers was visiting the site of the July 13 assassination attempt. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
Butler County Sergeant Edward Lenz, commander of the “ESU,” or emergency services unit, had been monitoring radio traffic and telephoned a state police sergeant after Crooks was spotted prowling with a rangefinder.
The sergeant then relayed the message to Secret Service officials at the trailer where he was stationed, the report said.
Attempts to contact Lenz with further questions were unsuccessful.
Poor cell service quality continued to hamper Crooks' investigation, as a local law enforcement officer relayed that he was trying to share a photo over the phone.
A Beaver County sniper later spotted Crooks standing next to the glass company building with a backpack and began moving around inside the building where he was stationed to try to keep an eye on him. The sniper, Sergeant Greg Nicol, was later praised by Beaver County officials for his “good old-fashioned police work.”
Nicol later relayed that Crooks “went over to Sheetz,” referring to the Altoona-based outpost of the gas station chain, one block east of the AGR building.
Former President Trump gestures with his bloodied face after multiple gunshots were heard during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Reuters/Brendan McDermid)
Via a graphic, the Post reported that Crooks could have moved and used an HVAC unit on the far side of the AGR glass complex to reach the roof.
Several videos have shown Crooks moving around the roof at the time.
Once a police officer was able to get a look over the roof, as previously reported, Crooks was seen with his rifle.
According to the Post report, when Lenz radioed the QRF or “quick response force” about the now-armed threat, gunshots rang out.
On Wednesday, District Attorney Goldinger said federal agents failed to address local officials' concerns and essentially left locals to set up their own command post, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
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Law enforcement from Butler, Beaver and Washington counties reportedly set up their posts the morning of the rally. The Secret Service command post was set up at the back of the venue, where Trump would be facing from the dais, while the county command trailer was to the left of the former president’s stage. Crook’s position atop the AGR glass company building was to the right of the stage.
In response to questions about the Fox News Digital Post report, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the agency is “committed to better understanding what happened before, during and after the attempted assassination of former President Trump to ensure it never happens again.”
“This includes a robust mission assurance investigation by our Office of Professional Responsibility that will meticulously examine all aspects of the event and full cooperation with Congress, the FBI and other relevant investigations.”
