Body camera video from rooftop after Trump shooting raises eyebrows

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Kaitlin Lewis

By Kaitlin Lewis

Night Reporter

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Body camera footage shared by U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa sheds new details on the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump—and raises additional questions.

On July 13, a 20-year-old gunman fired several shots from an AR-15-style weapon during Trump's campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The U.S. Secret Service has faced pressure from both sides of the aisle over how the young assailant was able to get a clear shot on Trump, who was grazed on the tip of his right ear in the shooting. The gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, fired his weapon from the roof of a building less than 200 yards from the podium where Trump was speaking to supporters.

Grassley posted a roughly three-minute video to his X, formerly Twitter, account Tuesday evening of body camera footage that showed law enforcement on the rooftop where Crooks was positioned. The video shows a group of counter-snipers talking with a Secret Service agent while Crooks can be seen lying on the roof near a stream of blood.

What's in the Video?

It is unclear who is seen in the video, although at least four local law enforcement officers are seen talking to the unnamed Secret Service agent while on the roof.

The footage starts while the officers are discussing if the dead man next to them is the same one seen in a photo sent out by a member of Beaver County's sniper team. Reports previously surfaced that there were three snipers stationed in the building that Crooks scaled to shoot at Trump. One of those officers spotted Crooks before the shooting and reported a "suspicious person" in the minutes leading up to the assassination attempt. That sniper also took a photo of Crooks.

Officers then tell the Secret Service agent that the sniper who saw Crooks and took a photo of him is in a nearby building, pointing to the officer's location. The officials also speak about two other people detained by officers and were caught recording Crooks before he opened fire. Investigators have not identified any other persons of interests connected to the shooting, and several reports have come out that rally spectators attempted to alert law enforcement about Crooks' position on the roof before he fired at Trump.

Another official is heard asking if the law enforcement team has access to a drone to survey the scene. Investigators have said that it appears Crooks used a drone to scope out the site of Trump's rally before the shooting. Cheatle testified before Congress on Monday that the Secret Service did not seek to use drones while preparing for the campaign event.

Questions Remain Unanswered

Grassley's post on Tuesday was praised by former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who wrote on X, "God bless @ChuckGrassley for getting more info on his own than the CYA crowd at DHS and USSS has revealed even under subpoena."

Other users put additional pressure on the Secret Service over its handling of the assassination attempt. Author and journalist Ashlee Vance responded to Grassley's post, writing, "I dunno, guys. Am starting to think Hollywood has been exaggerating the Secret Service's abilities."

Sean Davis, co-founder of conservative site The Federalist specifically raised questions about the images taken of Crooks by rally spectators and Secret Service agents before the shooting.

"Sure would be nice to see those pictures right about now," Davis wrote in a post to X in response to the body camera footage.

During the hearing on Monday, Cheatle was berated by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, who demanded answers on why Trump was allowed to go up on stage even after a potentially suspicious person was spotted by officers. Cheatle repeatedly pushed back on answering lawmakers' questions, saying that the agency's investigation into the incident is ongoing. The FBI is also conducting an independent probe of the assassination attempt.

Former Secret Service Agent Jonathan Wackrow told CNN during an appearance on Anderson Cooper 360 Tuesday night that the details provided in the body camera footage were "really important," adding, "This is what we really wanted to start hearing yesterday" during Cheatle's testimony.

Wackrow also discussed details of congressional testimony from Pennsylvania State Police Colonel Christopher Paris. On Tuesday, Paris testified to the House Homeland Security Committee that his division was told by the Secret Service before Trump's rally that a local police unit would monitor the building where Crooks was found.

The Butler County District Attorney's Office previously told The New York Times, however, that its emergency service unit did not have responsibility to secure the building's roof.

"What you're really starting to see ... [is] that the rules and responsibility of the local law enforcement, their specific posts, were not clearly understood prior to this event ever taking place," Wackrow said Tuesday night.

Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi told Newsweek in an email early Wednesday morning that the agency "is committed to better understanding what happened before, during, and after the assassination attempt of former President Trump to ensure that never happens again. That includes complete cooperation with Congress, the FBI and other relevant investigations."

Update 07/23/24, 3:18 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information and background.

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What's in the Video?

Questions Remain Unanswered