A counter sniper with Pennsylvania law enforcement told members of the U.S. House on Monday that the U.S. Secret Service declined the encrypted radios offered by local law enforcement ahead of the July 13 rally where former President Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt.
The claim was made during a J13 Forum attended by U.S. Representatives Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05), Eli Crane (R-AZ-02), Cory Mills (R-FL-07), Chip Roy (R-TX-21) and streamed to social media by Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL-01).
“I believe they were offered, but I do not believe they were taken,” said Washington Regional SWAT Officer Ben Shaffer, who was providing security in a different area of the rally grounds where he did not have visual contact with Thomas Crooks, the attempted assassin.
Shaffer (pictured above) spoke at the event alongside former Secret Service agent and conservative radio host Dan Bongino, and Erik Prince, the founder of the private military contractor Blackwater.
LIVE: J13 Forum – Examining the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump https://t.co/G2ElH4LepC
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) August 26, 2024
He also told also said Secret Service told law enforcement to coordinate using cell phones, and told the Republicans the Secret Service additionally denied a sophisticated communication platform and surveillance drone offered by local law enforcement, and neither attended a briefing held the morning of the rally nor attempted to reach a nearby water tower or building that would have offered vantage points over the building Crooks used to fire at Trump and into the crowd.
Shaffer told the Republicans that he received images of Crooks from other members of law enforcement, but did not know the attempted assassin was spotted using a rangefinder device, which can be used to calculate distance.
The SWAT officer explained this would have elevated the law enforcement assessment of Crooks from a “suspicious person” to a “person of interest.”
🚨Ben Shaffer, a Washington regional SWAT operator who took part in the security in the July 13 assassination attempt on Trump, goes through all the ways Secret Service did NOT accept help from the police forces on the ground.
Secret Service: didn't take communication, didn't… pic.twitter.com/M46jU18DT6— Tyler O'Neil (@Tyler2ONeil) August 26, 2024
Shaffer said this would have justified “some type of investigatory detention,” potentially preventing Crooks from climbing to the rooftop he used as a perch to shoot Trump in the ear, injure two rally attendees, and claim the life of former fire chief Corey Comperatore.
On Monday it was additionally reported that Crooks’ father retained a top law firm amid the ongoing FBI investigation, and earlier the Comperatore family suggested it would pursue litigation against those who failed to protect the rally.
Representative Mike Kelly (R-PA-16) confirmed his U.S. House task force, created to investigate the assassination attempt, plans to return to Pennsylvania as its investigation continues.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Image “Ben Shaffer” by Rep. Matt Gaetz.
