WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) today released bodycam footage of local law enforcement and United States Secret Service (USSS) personnel responding to the scene of the shooter in Butler, Pennsylvania. The video was obtained from the Beaver County Emergency Services Unit in compliance with congressional requests.
The footage records Beaver County and USSS officers gathering facts and recapping a timeline of events leading up to the shooter’s attempt against former President Donald Trump.
The video confirms:
- Local law enforcement saw the shooter prior to his presence on the roof.
- Local law enforcement shared pictures of the suspected shooter with USSS, raising questions with respect to exactly when the pictures were shared.
- Law enforcement lost track of the suspected shooter.
- Law enforcement sought access to a drone to secure the water tower after the shooting.
Grassley said the following regarding the records release:
“For the past 10 days, questions have only been building regarding the catastrophic security failure that occurred on July 13. Federal agencies, particularly the Secret Service, have failed to be transparent with the American people. This assassination attempt is a matter of signifcant public interest, and the public’s business ought to be public. I’m releasing these records as part of my efforts to get answers and hold agencies accountable.”
Grassley additionally sent an oversight letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and USSS Acting Director Ronald Rowe containing documentation of a Butler County site plan and USSS drone surveillance personnel assigned to the July 13 event.
Read Grassley’s letter HERE and below.
July 23, 2024
VIA ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION
The Honorable Alejandro Mayorkas
Secretary
Department of Homeland Security
Mr. Ronald Rowe
Acting Director
United States Secret Service
Dear Secretary Mayorkas and Acting Director Rowe:
I write to you to again request the Secret Service operational security plan, and related records, for the July 13, 2024, campaign event held by former President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. My office has received records related to the apparent location of some law enforcement posts during the July 13, 2024, event to include Butler County and Beaver County Emergency Services Units (ESU) with assignment at the AGR building. My office has also obtained the below color-coded document indicating what appears to be some state law enforcement sectors for the Trump rally and the document notes each sector is highlighted by “order of importance.” Is this document accurate? Did local law enforcement have the shared responsibility with Secret Service to cover the AGR building? To better understand the full security posture of the event, the Secret Service must provide equivalent records.