A new report by the DHS Inspector General reveals that a series of communication errors, inexperienced personnel, and technical failures led to the failure to prevent the assassination attempt on Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The investigation cites a lack of coordination, lost police radio communications, and an unsecured perimeter as key factors that allowed the attacker to see the scene.
The report calls the event preventable. Among the errors and omissions made were 102 missed radio warnings, a malfunctioning anti-drone system, and an unprotected direct shooting corridor to the podium, amid a 21.4% staffing shortage.
On July 13, 2024, during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, Donald Trump was slightly wounded in the right ear in an assassination attempt carried out by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. The shooter, who killed one participant and wounded two others, was eliminated at the scene by the Secret Service, and subsequent investigations revealed serious gaps in the security perimeter.