PA - Assassination attempt, shooting injures former POTUS Donald Trump, leaves 1 spectator deceased two in critical condition, 13 July 2024 #4

[Luna20]

The 20-year-old Bethel Park man who tried to assassinate former President Donald Trump at a Butler County political rally July 13 had used “foreign-based encrypted email accounts” and aliases to make more than 25 purchases on firearms websites and buy six “chemical precursors” online since spring 2023, the FBI said Monday.

FBI: Trump shooter shopped on gun websites using aliases, encrypted email

The 20-year-old Bethel Park man who tried to assassinate former President Donald Trump at a Butler County political rally had used “foreign-based encrypted email accounts” and aliases to make more tha...

www.butlereagle.com

A sniper with the group told ABC News on Monday that the SWAT team had no contact before the shooting with Trump’s security detail, and that he notified command staff about Crooks when the young man was spotted acting suspiciously at the rally about an hour before shots were fired.

…

Local LE had no contact with SS until after the shhoting.

You beat me to it, I was emphasizing the same. Did you see the interview last night?

 

[Sundog]

All good questions. I haven't heard anything reliable about Crooks having foreign accounts, but who knows?

Early on, IIRC, federal authorities stated that the assassin had encrypted foreign accounts, and that they were having to work with their counterparts overseas to be able to access these foreign encrypted accounts.

 

[Luna20]

The Pittsburgh FBI field office is leading the investigation. I guess director Wray is getting all of his information second hand. Doesn't give me a feeling of confidence, especially after the SS Pittsburgh office handled the rally.

How can Wray testify before a congressional committee on second hand information. He's the one sworn in to tell the truth, he's telling the story as it's told to him. Certainly seems an assassination attempt would rise to his personal oversight. Guess it's just not a priority to bring the truth to Americans.

I'm very disappointed.
Moo

I’m confused by Wray because of his incorrect statement, although he did own it and apologized.

It just doesn’t make sense to take second hand information if that is the case. Things like this are concerning and it erodes trust.

 

[Elley Mae]

In a news conference early Sunday morning, the FBI special agent in charge of the Pittsburgh field office, Kevin Rojek, had confirmed that the FBI is leading the investigation into the shooting and that it “is our assessment at this time” that law enforcement did not know the shooter was on the roof until he began firing.

“It is surprising,” Rojek said when asked about the gunman’s close vicinity to the rally. He said that proximity is among the details that will be a focus of the investigation. Rojek added: “The Secret Service really needs to answer that question. They conduct the initial site survey.”

What went wrong? How did Secret Service allow shooter to get so close to Trump?

A former Secret Service director tells USA TODAY that protection for Trump should have extended to 1,000 yards. Alleged shooter fired from 150 yards.

www.usatoday.com

Quoting my post

The head of the pittsburgh field office is Rojek, thought it funny this coming from him.

Snipped

Rojek added: “The Secret Service really needs to answer that question. They conduct the initial site survey.”

…

 

[Simply Southern]

I’m confused by Wray because of his incorrect statement, although he did own it and apologized.

It just doesn’t make sense to take second hand information if that is the case. Things like this are concerning and it erodes trust.

Yes he did make a correction I never saw an apology. It was a short statement released by the FBI.

I think it was deliberate and intentional he volunteered the information on national TV during a congressional hearing. MSM flash this across the front page of every leading website and newspaper. He volunteered this information, he was not asked. I watched the entire hearing. This was absolutely intentional, to discredit the severity of an attempted assassination and discredit former president Trump. Moo...

The correction was just a very short statement, media barely mentioned it.

Moo ...

 

[Simply Southern]

Quoting my post

The head of the pittsburgh field office is Rojek, thought it funny this coming from him.

Snipped

Rojek added: “The Secret Service really needs to answer that question. They conduct the initial site survey.”

…

I said earlier, the congressional committees need to invite or subpoena local staff, agents that were involved, the person who did the site plan. All the second and third and information is worth nothing.
I know each Congressional committee has requested the site plan to date no one has provided. I think they're going to keep it a secret saying it security reasons, but it's looking more and more like a cover-up for inadequate planning, staffing and accountability.
Moo

 

[Love Never Fails]

Yes he did make a correction I never saw an apology. It was a short statement released by the FBI.

I think it was deliberate and intentional he volunteered the information on national TV during a congressional hearing. MSM flash this across the front page of every leading website and newspaper. He volunteered this information, he was not asked. I watched the entire hearing. This was absolutely intentional, to discredit the severity of an attempted assassination and discredit former president Trump. Moo...

The correction was just a very short statement, media barely mentioned it.

Moo ...

Also, to lay the blame on local LE is disgusting. In every event, the Secret Service has the final authority and ultimate responsibility to guard the President/former President. Director Wray should resign as well as Ms. Cheatle, IMO.

 

[Sundog]

Also, to lay the blame on local LE is disgusting. In every event, the Secret Service has the final authority and ultimate responsibility to guard the President/former President. Director Wray should resign as well as Ms. Cheatle, IMO.

I just heard on radio news that the FBI has stated that they are only investigating the criminal aspect of the shooting at the President Trump rally, not the actions of the Secret Service regarding the planning and organization of the event.

If this is true, then it's a good thing that Congress is investigating, otherwise you have the SS investigating themselves.

 

[Ruminations]

Also, to lay the blame on local LE is disgusting. In every event, the Secret Service has the final authority and ultimate responsibility to guard the President/former President. Director Wray should resign as well as Ms. Cheatle, IMO.

Well, that's what the resignation was about.

It's a symbol that the Secret Service is the lead agency and has the ultimate responsibility.

I watched a bit of the ABC interview, and I do not believe that team blamed Secret Service. I also do not believe Secret Service blamed them. The director resigned!

MOO

Edited to add: Wray didn't do anything! Why should he resign?

 

[Luna20]

Also, to lay the blame on local LE is disgusting. In every event, the Secret Service has the final authority and ultimate responsibility to guard the President/former President. Director Wray should resign as well as Ms. Cheatle, IMO.

In the interview upthread LE said they were supposed to have a face to face with SS and that didn’t happen.

 

[layer]

Early on, IIRC, federal authorities stated that the assassin had encrypted foreign accounts, and that they were having to work with their counterparts overseas to be able to access these foreign encrypted accounts.

Virtually everything these days is encrypted. The "s" at the end of "https" in the url of most websites, including WS, means the data is encrypted. Has the nature of these accounts ever been disclosed? Bank accounts? Online gamer chat accounts? Overseas adult content destinations? Logically, if it was just something innocuous you would think they would have put that information out right away. So we're left wondering...

 

[Simply Southern]

Well, that's what the resignation was about.

It's a symbol that the Secret Service is the lead agency and has the ultimate responsibility.

I watched a bit of the ABC interview, and I do not believe that team blamed Secret Service. I also do not believe Secret Service blamed them. The director resigned!

MOO

Edited to add: Wray didn't do anything! Why should he resign?

He lied. He lied to a congressional committee, he lied to American citizens. He volunteered information that was untruthful in order to discredit an attempted assassination and a former president. He knew what he was doing he had a smirk when he said it.

Yeah, he needs to go and quickly. We do not need the director of the FBI speaking without knowledge and proof to American citizens. I could understand if he was questioned by a member of the committee, and made a statement with a disclaimer.
But no, he stepped forward and made the statement without any prompting deliberate and intentional. We pay his salary, he works for American citizens and he lied to us.

If I lied on national TV or at a congressional hearing, I am 100% sure I'd be fired. Especially if I volunteer the information and was not asked. I guess they're like the Secret Service, you can do whatever you want with no accountability, no risk of losing your job or being reprimanded for giving false statements under oath.

Moo...

 

[Odeto BJ]

Want to point something out: The Beaver County lead sniper said, we were expecting a meeting with the Secret Service SNIPERS and that never happened....

at about 2:05

MSM has variously reported this as (meeting with...) SS agents or SS members...even ABC themselves.

Failure of communication: Local SWAT team details account of Trump rally assassination attempt

In an exclusive interview with ABC News, local SWAT details account of the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump at his rally.

abcnews.go.com

I'm not sure just how significant that is. Seems to me, if there was to be a meeting, it would be with the organizers and planners from the SS rather than the uniformed snipers, who are a couple of pay grades lower. MOO and could be wrong.

 

[SpanishInquisition]

Want to point something out: The Beaver County lead sniper said, we were expecting a meeting with the Secret Service SNIPERS and that never happened....

at about 2:05

MSM has variously reported this as (meeting with...) SS agents or SS members...even ABC themselves.

Failure of communication: Local SWAT team details account of Trump rally assassination attempt

In an exclusive interview with ABC News, local SWAT details account of the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump at his rally.

abcnews.go.com

I'm not sure just how significant that is. Seems to me, if there was to be a meeting, it would be with the organizers and planners from the SS rather than the uniformed snipers, who are a couple of pay grades lower. MOO and could be wrong.

I'm very curious about all communication and any lack thereof between local LEs and the Secret Service. It seems like the PSP - the only ones allowed in the Secret Service command area - themselves didn't have a clear picture of what was going on:

Secret Service Told Local Police Another Agency Had Building

The shooter fired several rounds from an AR-15-type rifle — eight cartridge cases were recovered from the rooftop of the building, a business just outside the security perimeter, about 150 yards away from where Donald Trump spoke.

www.govtech.com

 

[GRT]

Even if someone thinks it was a SS hit, there isn’t a way to prove that so far. Text messages and video from affixed buildings will hopefully answer valid questions.

In the interview last night with the 8 swat, they said on record that they did not have any communication with SS prior to the shooting. I don’t think they would offer that statement if they couldn’t back it up with solid proof.

I appreciate them coming forward for the sake of transparency. There are scenarios where one of the persons says they were coerced to do and say in an interview but unless they lied I think that can be one part of the puzzle we can put aside while we wait on the others.

I sincerely doubt it was an SS hit. If an agency of that type is going to be involved in a hit, I should think they would work with a professional sniper, not a young man who was a shooting enthusiast using a (not very accurate) AR15.

 

[GRT]

Early on, IIRC, federal authorities stated that the assassin had encrypted foreign accounts, and that they were having to work with their counterparts overseas to be able to access these foreign encrypted accounts.

Thank you. I think they were encrypted foreign email accounts, which are very common, like ProtonMail (Switzerland) or Hushmail (Canada). If users think the government (or anyone) is watching them, they regularly opt for one of those providers. And there are more like that.

I just think he was a disturbed young man who was ready to go out in a big way.

JMOO

 

[GRT]

I'm very curious about all communication and any lack thereof between local LEs and the Secret Service. It seems like the PSP - the only ones allowed in the Secret Service command area - themselves didn't have a clear picture of what was going on:

This is what I think, too. I think it was all a lack of communication, but I bet new policies will be put in place that take care of that. Right away.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

The gunman who tried to kill former president Donald Trump conducted internet searches related to power plants, mass shooting events and the attempted assassination this year of Slovakia’s prime minister, FBI officials said Monday, offering new details about what they described as the gunman’s “careful planning” for the attack

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/07/29/trump-assassination-attempt-fbi-updates/

• 4:26 p.m.: A Beaver County sniper finishes his shift and departs the AGR building. While exiting, he spots Crooks at a picnic table outside and alerts the remaining Beaver and Butler snipers in the AGR building to Crooks’ presence (texts).
• 5:38 p.m.: A Beaver County sniper sends photos of Crooks to the Beaver, Butler and Washington snipers group chat. The Beaver sniper notes Crooks was using “a range finder looking towards the stage” and recommends that they notify Secret Service snipers to “look out” (texts).
• 5:45 p.m.: A Beaver County sniper sends photos of Crooks to the Beaver County ESU group chat. Beaver law enforcement recommends they alert “command” (texts).

404 | U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa

The Official U.S. Senate website of Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa

www.grassley.senate.gov

 

[Arkay]

I'm surprised they would use someone who would only be available till 4:00 p.m, given that the speaker was due to start at 5pm.

Sounds like this guy was very alert and doing his job up until the time that he was off duty.

IMO, we don’t really know enough about this yet. So far, I tend to agree with Sundog. It seems as though this SS guy was relaying info that was up-to-date at the time he was going off-duty.

For all we are aware, this agent may have already put in a full day scoping out sites, making arrangements or whatever prior to clocking out. They can’t pull 24- hour shifts, and likely they need the freshest people to be active during the time the protectee is actually on the premises.

This is not, of course, to say the SS and/or local LE did not fail. Obviously they did fail or we wouldn’t have one spectator dead, two spectators wounded, and a former president/current candidate slightly wounded (and only alive due to a timely move of his head).

It’s just my current opinion that this particular agent appears to have imparted what he knew to the agents coming onto shift.

 

[Artis]

I'm surprised they would use someone who would only be available till 4:00 p.m, given that the speaker was due to start at 5pm.

Yeah, that doesn't make sense.