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The 20-year-old shooter who opened fire on a Butler, Pennsylvania, Trump rally last Saturday was reportedly able to obtain aerial surveillance footage using a drone prior to the event.
According to the latest report from The Wall Street Journal, the would-be assassin was able to fly a drone along a “programmed flight path” just hours before the July 13 rally began. Officials told the WSJ the fact that the flight path was preprogrammed led them to conclude that he had flown the drone over the venue “more than once as he researched and scoped out the event site.”
Josh Kraushaar shared the WSJ’s report along with a brief quote from the article as a caption: “WSJ, breaking: ‘The gunman who tried to kill Donald Trump was able to fly a drone and get aerial footage of the western Pennsylvania fairgrounds shortly before the former president was set to speak there, law-enforcement officials briefed on the matter said, further underscoring the stunning security lapses ahead of Trump’s near assassination.'”
— Josh Kraushaar (@JoshKraushaar) July 19, 2024
Donald Trump Jr. responded to the report as well, noting that at one point he had been barred from flying his own drone on the beach near his family’s home simply because his father had been inside the house at the time.
“Just to underscore how crazy this all is, I was once prevented flying MY OWN drone off of the beach at Mar-a-Lago by USSS because my father was inside the house… Now we have one literally scouting his speech!!!” he posted on X.
Just to underscore how crazy this all is, I was once prevented flying MY OWN drone off of the beach at Mar-a-Lago by USSS because my father was inside the house…
Now we have one literally scouting his speech!!! 🤬 https://t.co/M3BAENqT4f— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 20, 2024
Senator Josh Hawley pointed out the disparity, noting that the Secret Service detail assigned to the event had not used drones to surveil the area — a move that might have clued them in to the shooter’s whereabouts much sooner.
“Yet Secret Service did NOT use drones themselves on the day. The shooter was prepared. They were not,” he remarked.
Yet Secret Service did NOT use drones themselves on the day. The shooter was prepared. They were not https://t.co/knZpGjSrZN
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) July 19, 2024
“The more we learn, the more clear it is that Director Cheatle needs to resign. This information should have been provided to lawmakers on our briefing, not leaked to the media,” Senator Marsha Blackburn added.
The more we learn, the more clear it is that Director Cheatle needs to resign. This information should have been provided to lawmakers on our briefing, not leaked to the media. https://t.co/kVKupfR1wB
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) July 20, 2024
The Secret Service has been fielding questions about the multiple apparent lapses in security at the Saturday rally, not the least of which being how the shooter was able to attain an elevated position with a clear line of sight under 200 yards from where President Trump was speaking.
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