Secret Service faces serious questions about security footprint and rooftop access at Trump event

Originally Published: 14 JUL 24 11:51 ET

Updated: 15 JUL 24 00:16 ET

By Whitney Wild, Evan Perez and Tierney Sneed, CNN

(CNN) — In the wake of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, there are widespread concerns and questions about how a sniper was able to obtain rooftop access roughly 150 meters from the former president’s position at the podium at an outdoor rally.

Sources have described the shooting as coming from the “three o’clock” position of Trump’s podium location, with shots coming from his right side. Seconds after gunfire rang out, Secret Service counter-assault snipers began shooting the suspect who was found on top of a roof.

Notably, the shooter’s location was outside the security perimeter, raising questions about both the size of the perimeter and efforts to sweep and secure the American Glass Research building, and how the shooter was able to obtain rooftop access.

President Joe Biden said Sunday he has directed US Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle “to review all security measures – all security measures – for the Republican National Convention.”

“I’ve directed an independent review of the national security at yesterday’s rally to assess exactly what happened. And I’ll share the results of that independent review with the American people,” Biden said.

Law enforcement sources say that part of the aftermath will include a review of whether the Secret Service had enough assets to protect Trump days ahead of officially becoming the Republican presidential nominee and whether procedures were followed to conduct security sweeps of the building that offered a vantage point for the alleged shooter.

“Foundationally, one of the most basic elements of site security, especially a site that’s outside and largely uncontrolled, is (to) eliminate sight lines to this space where the protectee will be either speaking or just occupying,” former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe said on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday morning. “When you look at that map, it so clearly points to those buildings that are within it, clearly within shooting range.”

FBI now leading the investigation into attempted assassination

It is not yet clear how the shooter was able to obtain rooftop access in relatively close proximity, or why that building was left outside the “hard” security perimeter. The FBI is now the lead agency investigating the attempted assassination. But the security lapse issue will be for the Department of Homeland Security and USSS, as well as Congress, to look into.

According to CNN affiliate KDKA, a witness says he told officers that he saw a gunman moving “from roof to roof,” moments before the assassination attempt.

Ben Macer was along a fence line when he saw “the guy move from roof to roof. (I) told an officer (the alleged shooter) was on the roof,” KDKA reported. “When I turned around to go back to where I was, it was when the gunshots started, and then it was just chaos, and we all came running away, and that was that.”

Witnesses have also told reporters that they saw a person fitting the description of the alleged shooter carrying a rifle outside the security cordon of the rally before the shooting.

The shooter was spotted by local law enforcement who thought he might’ve been acting suspiciously near the event magnetometers on Saturday, according to a senior law enforcement official. They put it out over their radio to keep an eye on him – and that information was passed to Secret Service as well, according to the source.

Multiple law enforcement sources told CNN that the shooter had explosive material in his car and residence. The Secret Service does not allow any weapons inside the cordoned off areas of any event. AGR has not responded to questions from CNN about the incident or security.

Authorities have identified the gunman involved in the attack as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was killed by Secret Service agents at the scene after the shooting.

Multiple law enforcement sources with in-depth knowledge of Secret Service operations have told CNN counter-sniper teams have wide discretion when shooting down a threat.

The Secret Service says there were four counter-sniper teams – two from USSS and two from local law enforcement. The agency says that, at the time of the shooting, Cheatle was in Milwaukee, where this week’s Republican National Convention is being held.

Cheatle, according to The New York Times, sent a memo on Sunday, praising the agents who were with Trump at the rally Saturday for moving quickly and neutralizing the threat. “The attempted assassination of former President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, is a moment that forever will be remembered in history,” she wrote in the memo, which was reviewed by the Times.

CNN has reached out to the Secret Service about the reported memo.

Calls from Congress for probes into security ‘failure’

Republican and Democratic lawmakers are already demanding answers from the agency on the security posture and hearings on the incident.

House Speaker Mike Johnson vowed a “full investigation” of the shooting, featuring testimony from USSS, DHS and the FBI, and two Republicans on the Senate Homeland Security Committee have also called for an investigation.

House Intelligence Chairman Mike Turner, on CNN’s “State of the Union,” likewise said that Congress had “oversight scrutiny and responsibility,” and said there was a “failure of the overall broader net.”

House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green held a call with Cheatle Sunday afternoon, pressing her on what led to Saturday’s security failures, a committee source familiar with the call told CNN. Cheatle committed to providing requested documents to the committee promptly, as able, per the source.

Green also detailed the information requests he has with DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, which include USSS communications and documents surrounding the rally, the source added. The Tennessee Republican sent a letter to Mayorkas earlier Sunday requesting documents about Secret Service security plans and its communications by July 19 and a briefing by July 22.

House Oversight Chairman James Comer contacted the Secret Service for a briefing and is calling on Cheatle to appear for a hearing on July 22.

New York Reps. Ritchie Torres, a Democrat, and Mike Lawler, a Republican, are also working to introduce a bill they say would give enhanced USSS protection to Trump, Biden and independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

“As reports continue to emerge, it’s clear that more protection is needed for all major candidates for president,” the pair said in a joint statement provided to CNN.

In a separate scathing letter to the Secret Service director on Sunday, Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego said that there was a “security failure at the highest level, not seen since the attempted assassination of President Reagan.”

“This cannot happen, and I demand accountability,” Gallego, who is running for an Arizona Senate seat, said.

Secret Service denies claims that it rejected requests for more security for Trump

The Secret Service – along with local law enforcement in Pennsylvania who assisted in securing the rally venue, as well as sources close to Trump’s campaign – is denying rumors circulating on social media, including by a Republican member of Congress, that the agency had denied requests from Trump’s team for more security.

In a statement, the Secret Service said the detail had been increased recently.

“There’s an untrue assertion that a member of the former President’s team requested additional security resources and that those were rebuffed,” said Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi. “This is absolutely false. In fact, we added protective resources & technology & capabilities as part of the increased campaign travel tempo.”

The FBI also pushed back on the implication on Saturday night.

“There was no additional request for security that was ever denied by the FBI,” Kevin Rojek, the FBI special agent in charge of the Pittsburgh office said during a news conference.

The incident also raises questions about security at the upcoming Republican convention. Recently, the questions over how the Secret Service and law enforcement would treat those carrying firearms was raised at a press conference explaining the RNC security plan.

A local official, Nick DeSiato, made clear due to Wisconsin law, firearms would be allowed in the “soft” perimeter – an area outside the magnetometers that is limited to foot traffic.

Shooting comes after other lapses in protection for high-profile officials

The scrutiny comes as the Secret Service has dealt with security lapses in recent months and years. In May 2023, an intruder gained access to the home of Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, despite his round-the-clock Secret Service protection. Sullivan encountered the intruder in his home and alerted his security detail. Sullivan was unharmed.

On January 6, 2021, then-incoming Vice President Kamala Harris was driven by her security detail yards away from a pipe bomb outside the Democratic National Headquarters. She was evacuated after law enforcement discovered the pipe bomb which was more than 90 minutes after her arrival.

The Secret Service uses intelligence and strategic information to determine security posture.

The agency is not formally part of the intelligence community, and is considered a “consumer” of intelligence, relying heavily on relationships with agencies such as the Director of National Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis.

CORRECTION: This story has been updated with additional details and to correct the distance between the gunman and Donald Trump. It was 150 meters.

CNN’s John Miller, Sam Fossum, Allison Gordon, Ali Main, Kayla Gallagher and Hannah Rabinowitz contributed to this report.

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