Sniper-trained lawmakers say Trump should not go back to Butler

Two members of Congress who were trained snipers in previous careers said former President Donald Trump should not hold a second rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, because of the myriad security concerns with the site.

Mr. Trump was nearly assassinated on July 13 at a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show grounds. A gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, climbed onto the roof of a nearby building and fired at the former president, grazing his ear. Mr. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, is set to go back to the site for a rally on Oct. 5.

“This was a horrible venue for a rally, and Secret Service should have done everything possible to dissuade the campaign from hosting it there,” said Rep. Elijah Crane, Arizona Republican, citing “alarming threat profiles” from multiple buildings that overlook the farm show grounds and other access areas surrounding the site.

“Though I appreciate the former president’s courage and strong desire to rally his supporters, I strongly suggest that he and his campaign avoid this site on Oct. 5 and in the future,” Mr. Crane said in testimony before a House task force investigating the July 13 assassination attempt.

Mr. Crane received military sniper training as a Navy SEAL. He and Rep. Cory Mills, a Florida Republican who worked as a countersniper for a State Department contractor, visited the rally site after the attack on Mr. Trump to conduct a security assessment and identify vulnerabilities that led to the assassination attempt.

The two sniper-trained lawmakers testified at a House task force hearing Thursday.

Although Mr. Mills did not say so directly during the hearing, he told The Washington Times afterward that he concurred with Mr. Crane’s assessment that Mr. Trump should not go back to the Butler Farm Show grounds, although he admired his courage for wanting to do so.

Mr. Crane said during the hearing that Mr. Trump has been “extremely lucky” that the two assassination attempts against him — the July 13 shooting in Butler and a gunman perching at his Florida golf club on Sept. 15 — did not come from trained professionals.

He said he could tell from the weaponry they used and that Crooks tried to shoot Mr. Trump in the head.

“I can tell you from experience that most snipers are trained to take center-mass, torso shots if possible for the very exact reason that we saw him miss a headshot on July 13,” Mr. Crane said.

He questioned what would happen if Iran — which U.S. intelligence officials have said wants to assassinate Mr. Trump — or any other bad actor sent professionals.

“I think we can all see by now that their likelihood of success would be tremendous,” Mr. Crane said.

He and Mr. Mills suggested that Mr. Trump hire private security to supplement Secret Service protection.

Other witnesses at the hearing included three local law enforcement officials who worked the July 13 rally, a former Secret Service agent and the Allegheny County medical examiner who performed the autopsy of the would-be assassin.

Although the rally was held at the Butler Farm Show grounds, much of the testimony focused on the adjacent AGR International complex outside the Secret Service’s security perimeter for the event.

It was there, on the roof of a large building of interconnected warehouses, where Crooks fired eight rounds toward the stage. One of his bullets grazed Mr. Trump in the ear, and others hit rallygoers, one of whom was killed and two of whom were severely injured.

Edward Lenz, commander of the Butler County Emergency Services unit involved in the advanced security planning, said at no point did the Secret Service ask his unit to cover the AGR building.

The Secret Service did ask his unit to provide some sniper teams but didn’t give guidance on what areas to cover, he said.

“It was our decision to place those snipers on the second floor of the AGR building,” Mr. Lenz said. “They were aware of that.”

Countersnipers from Butler and Beaver counties posted on the second floor of the AGR building and, through a window, oversaw the stage and venue where most people gathered, Mr. Lenz said.

“They knew where we would be, what our plan was,” he said of the Secret Service, noting that the agency didn’t provide any feedback.

“There were additional things that probably needed to be covered, but they never asked us to do that,” Mr. Lenz said.

Drew Blasko, a patrol officer for the Butler Township Police Department, testified that he told the Secret Service that local police didn’t have the manpower to cover the AGR building.

The Secret Service responded that “they would take care of it,” he said.

The Secret Service provided four countersnipers to help cover the event, all positioned on barns on the farm show grounds behind the stage. One of those two-member sniper teams was assigned to provide an overwatch of the AGR complex, but their view was partially obstructed by trees.

Mr. Crane said he was dismayed that the Secret Service did not place any countersnipers on a water tower overlooking the AGR complex and the rally.

“That’s exactly where I would have placed myself as a countersniper because of its commanding view over the entire property,” he said. “Not only would any counter sniper have been able to easily engage Thomas Crooks from that position … but it is very likely that Thomas Crooks might have decided to abort his mission and go home had we had countersnipers on that water tower.”

Mr. Crane and Mr. Mills said other buildings within close range of the stage where Trump was speaking were left uncovered.

Mr. Mills said they talked with the owner of Kubota farm equipment dealership 400 yards away — a “very feasible shot” distance — who said no one from the Secret Service or local law enforcement ever spoke with them. That location could have been used as an overwatch position, he said.

It wasn’t just the buildings that presented vulnerabilities. Mr. Mills said the AGR complex being left outside of the security perimeter meant that anyone could have approached the fence line without being screened and taken a shot about 100 yards from the stage.

Rep. Mike Kelly, the task force’s chairman and a Pennsylvania Republican who lives in and represents Butler, said he has been assured that the AGR complex will be blocked off for Mr. Trump’s Oct. 5 rally.

Mr. Mills and Mr. Crane are conducting an independent investigation of the July 13 assassination attempt but pledged to continue to coordinate with the task force.

Thursday’s hearing focused on local law enforcement’s role. Mr. Kelly and Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado, the top Democrat on the task force, said the next phase of their investigation will home in on the Secret Service.

The task force also will investigate the second assassination attempt in Florida. They had planned to visit Mr. Trump’s golf course on Friday but will reschedule because of the hurricane forecast to hit the state.