Pittsburgh – The Butler Farm Show board of directors told Fox News on Tuesday that the venue where former President Trump held a rally in western Pennsylvania on July 13 is no longer a crime scene.
The show is one of the largest and most anticipated events of the year in the county and is scheduled to run from August 5th to August 10th.
“At this time, the Butler Farm Show property is not part of the crime scene and the property has been released by the FBI,” the show’s board of directors told Fox News about two and a half weeks after the assassination attempt.
The board also told Fox News that media would not be allowed on the grounds due to final preparations for the Butler Farm Show.
Trump shooting: A timeline of the assassination attempt
About two weeks after the shooting, the Butler Farm Show grounds were preparing to host the county fair. (Sarah Rumpf-Whitten/Fox News Digital)
“[W]”We are actively working to ensure that all preparations are in place to ensure a successful event and want to allow our team to focus fully on the preparations,” the board said in a statement. “We greatly appreciate your understanding and cooperation in this matter.”
During congressional hearings following the shooting that killed 50-year-old Corey Comperatore and critically injured two others, 74-year-old James Copenhaver and 57-year-old David Duch, U.S. Secret Service and FBI officials revealed more details about how the shooter, Thomas Crooks, managed to climb to the roof of a building about 150 yards from former President Trump’s speaker podium at the rally.
Trump assassination attempt: Texts show officers knew about Thomas Crooks 90 minutes before shooting
The Butler Farm Show, the site of a campaign rally for former Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, is photographed in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Monday, July 15, 2024. Trump was injured in an assassination attempt while speaking at a rally on July 13. (AP Photo/Jean J. Puskar)
The FBI told reporters on a conference call Monday morning that Crooks used HVAC equipment and ductwork to gain access to the roof of a building owned by American Glass Research (AGR) near Trump’s rally.
Crooks then ran across the rooftops to find a shooting position on the roof of the AGR Building near the fairgrounds, about 150 yards from where the former president spoke at the rally. The suspect was carrying a folding AR-15 and a rangefinder at the time.
Watch: Animation showing where the criminal stood during the assassination attempt
On the day of the rally, Crooks parked his car and flew the drone between 3:50 and 4:00 p.m., about 200 yards from where the former president was scheduled to speak on July 13.
Trump assassination attempt: FBI says gunman climbed into air conditioning unit, then across roof to location
FBI Director Christopher Wray At a congressional hearing on July 17, Crooks testified that he was at the rally for about 70 minutes on the morning of the assassination attempt.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers visited the site of the attempted assassination of former President Trump at a campaign rally on July 13, in which one person was killed and two were injured. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
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It was also revealed that Crooks had evaded police security despite being spotted by police about 90 minutes before the shots were fired.
It is unclear why Trump was allowed to take the stage and continue the rally despite police finding suspicious people at the event, but the FBI said it had more than 300 agents and staff working “around the clock” to gather facts and put together a clearer timeline of Crooks’ actions.
