In a joint congressional hearing on Tuesday, Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe admitted he was “ashamed” of the security lapses he claims left agents unaware of the shooter and nearly resulted in the assassination of former President Donald Trump.
Rowe, who was promoted to acting director last week after now-former Director Kimberly Cheatle’s resignation, testified before the Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security committees that the July 13 shooting at a Pennsylvania campaign rally represented “a failure on multiple levels.”
“Based on what I know right now, neither the Secret Service counter-sniper teams nor members of the former president’s security detail had any knowledge that there was a man on the roof of the AGR building with a firearm,” Rowe revealed, according to the New York Post.
“It is my understanding those personnel were not aware the assailant had a firearm until they heard gunshots,” he said. “Prior to that, they were operating with the knowledge that local law enforcement was working an issue of a suspicious individual prior to the shots being fired.”
Rowe went on to say that he has since visited the site where the assassination attempt took place, the Butler Farm Show grounds in Pennsylvania, where he “identified gaps in our security” and has implementing “corrective actions” to prevent a similar incident in the future. The shooter, Thomas Crooks, 20, was killed after he opened fire on Trump, killing a rallygoer and wounding two others.
“I laid in a prone position to evaluate his line of sight,” Rowe told members of both committees in his opening remarks. “What I saw made me ashamed.”
“As a career law enforcement officer, and a 25-year veteran with the Secret Service, I cannot defend why that roof was not better secured,” he added.
The Secret Service command post was alerted to the “suspicious” individual about 25 minutes before the shooting but “lost sight” of him between 6:02 and 6:08 p.m., FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate reported to the committee. During this critical window, Crooks climbed onto the AGR International Inc. building at 6:06 p.m, The Post reported.
At 6:11 p.m., a Butler County police officer who had climbed onto the manufacturing building spotted Crooks and reported over the radio that he was armed with “a long gun.” Thirty seconds later, Crooks opened fire.
Though a Secret Service counter-sniper killed him within seconds, Crooks was still able to fire eight shots, striking Trump in the right ear, killing rallygoer Corey Comperatore and wounding two others, David Dutch and James Copenhaver.
In a series of document releases, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) unveiled video footage, photos, and text messages that highlight the communication failures between local law enforcement and the Secret Service.
“Kid [lurking] around the building we are in,” one of the local counter snipers texted fellow law enforcers at 5:38 p.m, sharing photos of Crooks. “I did see him with a range finder looking towards stage. FYI. If you wanna notify SS snipers to look out. I lost sight of him,” the sniper added.
“Call it in to command and have a uniform check it out,” said one response in the text chain. Rowe, during his testimony, acknowledged “cell phone issues” and “radio issues.”
That said, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) told reporters during a press conference following the hearing that “26 minutes beforehand, a Secret Service sniper knew there was a person of suspicion — they had a picture of him.”
“At 5:45 [p.m.], a Secret Service sniper did receive a text with a picture of Crooks, of the assassin, and his location,” Johnson said, referencing discussions his congressional staff members had with local law enforcement in the days following the assassination attempt.
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