Newly reported transcripts depict communication breakdown hindering law enforcement at Butler Trump rally - Total News (2024)

Connoquenessing, Pennsylvania – Newly reported records of law enforcement communications at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, paint a picture of a communications structure in which local and federal law enforcement were essentially isolated from one another at key times.

communication The Washington Post reported Sunday. It also highlights how spotty cell phone service in the rural Allegheny Valley allegedly played a role in preventing officers from sending critical messages, like photos of then-suspect Thomas Crooks.

According to encrypted radio communications obtained by the Post, at 5:42 p.m. ET on July 13, a local police counter-sniper shot “a young white male.” [with] The “long-haired man” had been “lurking” around the AGR Glass building adjacent to the Butler Farm Show grounds, but then disappeared.

Within 30 minutes, the suspicious individual, Thomas Crooks, had opened fire on former President Trump from the roof of that low-rise building, killing a local firefighter in the process.

Butler slams local police for ‘inappropriate’ handling of Trump incident: ‘threw me under the bus’

But the local officers’ warning did not reach the U.S. Secret Service because it was sent to a trailer operated by a local police commander separate from the president’s unit, the Journal reported, citing Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger and another law enforcement source.

According to the Post, a police commander in the trailer called officers in Pennsylvania and relayed the message.

There were at least three other key moments when communications had to be sent by cellphone in venues where spectators often overwhelm frequencies, such as sporting events.

The emergency services director for neighboring Beaver County, which also sent personnel to the event, told the newspaper that agencies should not be separated from one another and should have representatives “in the same room.”

A Democratic official who visited Butler said local officials told him “we need to have more conversations” about the USSS’s failures.

Rep. Glenn Ivey, left, talks with Rep. Bennie Thompson on July 22, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania, as a bipartisan delegation visits the site of the July 13 assassination attempt. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)

Sergeant Edward Lentz, commander of Butler County’s “ESU,” or Emergency Services Unit, was monitoring radio communications and called a state police sergeant after Crooks was seen wandering around with a rangefinder.

The sergeant then reportedly relayed the message to Secret Service agents in the trailer where he was stationed.

Attempts to question Lentz further were unsuccessful.

Spotty cell service continued to hinder the investigation into Crooks, who local police said was attempting to share photos on his phone.

A Beaver County sniper then spotted Crooks wearing a backpack near a glass business building and attempted to move around and keep watch inside the building where Crooks was stationed. The sniper, Sergeant Greg Nicol, was later praised by Beaver County authorities for his “old-fashioned police work.”

Nicol said Crooks then “went to Sheetz,” a branch of the Altoona-based gas station chain located one block east of the AGR building.

Former President Trump, face bloodied, gestures after shots rang out during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Reuters/Brendan McDiarmid)

The Post reported via images that Crooks may have used an HVAC unit on the other side of the AGR Glass complex to climb onto the roof.

Various videos show Crooks moving around on the roof around that time.

As previously reported, officers looked from the roof and saw Crooks carrying a rifle.

According to the Post report, gunfire rang out as Lentz radioed the QRF (quick reaction force) about an armed threat.

District Attorney Goldinger on Wednesday said local officials’ concerns were ignored by federal agents, essentially leaving local residents to set up their own command center. Pittsburgh Tribune Review.

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Police from Butler, Beaver and Washington counties were reportedly stationed on the morning of the rally, with the Secret Service command post at the rear of the venue facing Trump from the podium and the county command trailer positioned to the left of the former president, with Crook sitting atop the AGR Glass Company building to his right.

In response to questions about the Washington Post report from Fox News Digital, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the agency is “committed to better understanding what happened before, during and after the assassination attempt on former President Trump and to ensuring that this never happens again.”

“This includes a robust mission assurance investigation by the agency’s Office of Professional Integrity, which will thoroughly examine all aspects of the incident and cooperate fully with Congress, the FBI and other related investigations.”