Lawmakers Shocked At How Close Shooter Got To Trump

Lawmakers investigating the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump visited the Pennsylvania attack site on Monday, expressing their astonishment at how close the shooter managed to get to Trump.

Members of the Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump inspected the Butler rally location where, last month, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks climbed onto a rooftop with a rifle and fired several rounds from approximately 130 yards away, hitting Trump in the ear.

Crooks also fatally shot 50-year-old Corey Comperatore and severely injured two other Trump supporters who were in the stands.

“There’s not one person on this conference that’s identifying as just a Republican or a Democrat. We’re identifying as members of Congress on a task force with a task to restore the faith and trust and confidence the American people have to have in our system,” said Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA), who is also the chairman of the group.

Members of the bipartisan House task force on the attempted assassination of former President Trump are in Butler, PA today to tour the site of the July 13 Trump rally. pic.twitter.com/AcieHxyYXg

— Kyle Stewart (@KyleAlexStewart) August 26, 2024

At a press conference held in Butler, several lawmakers expressed their surprise at how “small” the area was and how close Crooks was able to get to Trump. Kelly noted that military veterans on the task force observed the distance between the shooter and the stage where Trump was speaking, questioning, “How could this not have been prevented?”

Rep. Mike Kelly on the importance of the House Task Force being on the ground in Butler, PA: “It’s the difference between day and night.”

Reminder: The former Secret Service Director REFUSED to visit the fairgrounds after the attempted assassination of President Trump. pic.twitter.com/dRDBAoaFPZ

— Conservative War Machine (@WarMachineRR) August 26, 2024

Kelly further remarked that his “burning question” regarding the attack was why Trump was not immediately taken off the stage once a threat had been identified.

“There was knowledge ahead of time that there was a person of suspicion on that roof and armed. The key was to get the former president of the United States off the podium, then there’s nothing that has to take place,” Kelly added.

Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO), the ranking member of the task force, stated that many questions about the attack remain unanswered.

“In the United States of America you do not get to attempt to assassinate our elected officials and our candidates. It’s unacceptable,” the lawmaker said. “We are standing here in a bipartisan way to send a message that we won’t tolerate it. We’re going to get answers. The American people have a lot of questions, we have a lot of questions.”