It has emerged that the gunman who attempted to assassinate Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania last week flew a drone over the scene just hours before the shooting.
Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was able to fly the drone over the fairgrounds in western Pennsylvania and capture aerial footage on July 13 — the same day as Trump’s rally in Butler.
Crooks reportedly flew the drone on a predetermined flight path earlier in the day. Officials say the predetermined path suggests Crooks flew the small aircraft more than once to scout the location of the demonstration.
The shocking revelation was made Friday – nearly a week after the ill-fated campaign event – by law enforcement officials, the Wall Street Journal.
It was yet another example of the Secret Service’s failure to properly secure the area, exposing MAGA supporters and the former president to dangerous situations.
It has been revealed that the gunman who tried to assassinate Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania last week flew drones over the scene just hours before the shooting
Trump suffered a gunshot wound to his ear and a bystander was killed when the assassin fired at least six bullets.
Crooks was killed after the shooting when a Secret Service sniper team returned fire.
The Secret Service has been under intense scrutiny since they botched their job, with many even calling for the resignation of director Kimberly Cheatle.
The incident has been described as a massive security failure, with a growing list of things that went wrong in the run-up to and during the attempted assassination.
Scary video of TMZ captured the moment Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, lay down on the roof of a nearby building, in full view of shocked Trump supporters, and shot toward the stage.
According to reports, he had been spotted earlier and then monitored by police at the Trump rally because they felt something was wrong, but then lost sight of him before the massacre took place.
Witnesses said they alerted police to a man climbing onto a building with an AR-style rifle, but he was still able to open fire.
In a scathing statement Saturday night, FBI agent Kevin Rojek said it was “surprising” that Crooks managed to fire so many shots.
Thomas Matthew Crooks (pictured), 20, was able to fly a drone and capture aerial footage of the fairgrounds in western Pennsylvania on July 13 — the same day as Trump’s Butler rally
Trump suffered a wound to his ear when the gunshot grazed him. A bystander was killed when the assassin fired at least six bullets.
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tennessee) was the first lawmaker to say Cheatle “needs to go.”
Cheatle told ABC News on Tuesday that there were no officers on the sloping building because he considered it too dangerous. However, footage from the scene did show Secret Service snipers on a sloping roof behind where Trump gave his speech.
Addressing Americans from the White House on Sunday, President Joe Biden promised an “independent investigation” into the events at the meeting.
‘I am leading an independent investigation into national security [at] “We will also share the results of the independent investigation with the American people,” Biden said.
Former Secret Service agent Joseph LaSorsa said there would be an “intense review” and “massive realignment” within the agency. “This cannot happen,” he said.
He told DailyMail.com that it was very fortunate that Trump turned his head at the last moment so the bullet only hit his ear.
A shocking animation shows how close Trump was to death as the bullet passed his brain and hit his ear.
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A few days later, Cheatle was protected by her own agents after angry U.S. senators chased her through the halls of the RNC, demanding she explain how a gunman was able to target Donald Trump.
She was in Milwaukee’s congressional hall on Wednesday night to oversee security measures, just hours after making a cover-your-a** phone call to senators Saturday night about the Pennsylvania shooting.
Senators John Barrasso of Wyoming and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee led the chase, complaining that they did not have a chance to ask Cheatle their questions during the phone call.
A frustrated Barrasso then issued an ultimatum to the security chief.
“You almost killed him,” Barrasso shouted at Cheatle. “So resign or full explanation.”