US Senator shares preliminary findings on Trump assassination attempt

By Gozde Bayar

ANKARA (AA) – US Sen. Ron Johnson shared a report Sunday about the assassination attempt on former President and Republican Party candidate Donald Trump.

Following the attempt on Trump’s life, Johnson and his team met with federal and local government officials to investigate security errors on the day of the incident.

They found that the Secret Service did not attend a security briefing provided to local special weapons and tactics (SWAT) and sniper teams the morning of July 13.

Secondly, local law enforcement said communications were siloed and they were not in frequent radio contact directly with the Secret Service.

Also, local law enforcement notified command about the shooter prior to the incident and received confirmation that the Secret Service was aware of the notification.

Following the shooting, Secret Service members were seen on the roof of the American Glass Research building, where the shooter was located, with local law enforcement. Photos of the shooter were sent to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) for facial recognition.

Lastly, the Secret Service was initially not going to send snipers to the rally, according to local law enforcement.

Trump was attacked on July 13 at his campaign rally in Butler County in the state of Pennsylvania while addressing supporters.

One person was killed and two injured. The Secret Service announced that the assailant was “neutralized” at the scene.

The FBI classified the attack as an assassination attempt and identified the perpetrator who was killed at the scene as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks.