Republican Rep. Eli Klain of Arizona visited Butler, Pennsylvania on Monday with a bipartisan delegation of lawmakers and raised several questions about the attempted assassination of former President Trump.
Klain, a former Navy SEAL sniper, filmed himself on the roof of a Trump rally on July 13 where Thomas Crooks shot at Trump with a rifle, wounding the Republican candidate in the ear, killing firefighter Corey Comperatore and wounding two other passersby.
“Hello everyone, I’m in the building where the alleged sniper opened fire. It’s not a very steep hill,” Klain said, questioning Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle’s claim during the rally that the Secret Service couldn’t deploy personnel inside the building because of a “sloping roof.”
The 70-year-old Republican official called Cheatle’s “tilted roof” defense a “final blow” and said he “can get away with it all day.”
Rep. Eli Klain, R-Arizona, recorded a video from the rooftop where suspect Thomas Crooks shot former President Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13. (Rep. Eli Klain, R-Ariz.)
Crooks, 20, climbed onto a roof about 150 yards from where Trump spoke and took up a sniping position with a direct line of sight to the former president. He shot Trump several times before being killed by a Secret Service countersniper. The Secret Service has come under intense scrutiny for apparent security lapses that allowed Crooks to position himself on the roof.
Climbing to the roof would have been easy, Klain said, noting that Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.), 70, was able to do so when lawmakers toured the scene. Drawing on his experience as a former Navy SEAL sniper, the Arizona Republican quickly identified a nearby water tower as a missed opportunity for the Secret Service to deploy a countersniper or make some other security blunder.
“If the Secret Service or somebody had a sniper team there, this guy wouldn’t have been able to get five feet up on the roof,” Crane said.
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On the roof of the Butler Fairgrounds in Pennsylvania, where a bipartisan delegation of lawmakers visited on July 22. (Fox News Digital)
Crane pointed the camera toward a neighboring building with windows where he said Secret Service agents were expected to be stationed on the second floor.
“It makes me wonder why they couldn’t get rid of this guy sooner,” Crane said.
Klain again turned the camera to the rally and pointed to where Trump’s speaking stage was set up.
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U.S. Congressmen tour the Butler Farm Show, Monday, July 22, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
“Many questions remain unanswered in Butler, but we will be vigilant and get to the bottom of it and make sure this never happens again,” he said.
The lawmaker’s comments came after Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, released a 13-page official preliminary finding of his office’s investigation into the assassination attempt.
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A preliminary investigation found that the Secret Service was not present at a security briefing given to local SWAT and sniper teams on the morning of July 13; local law enforcement stated that their communications were siloed and that they did not have frequent direct radio contact with the Secret Service; local law enforcement notified headquarters about Crooks prior to the shooting and received confirmation that the Secret Service was aware of the notification; and Secret Service agents were seen on the roof of the American Glass Research Building with local law enforcement after the shooting.
As part of the investigation, photos of the shooter were sent to the ATF for facial recognition. Local Law Enforcement The Secret Service initially said it had no plans to send snipers to the rally.
Fox News Digital’s Charles Kreitz, Sarah Rumpf Whitten and Landon Mion contributed to this report.
