Trump, who was in the midst of giving one of his usual rousing speeches to a eager crowd when several shots rang out (the exact number still being debated), wounding two attendees, killing a third, and piercing the upper portion of Trump's right ear and grazing his scalp.
At the near instant when the shooter, 20 year old Thomas Matthew Crooks, squeeze the trigger of his semi-automatic AR-15 style rifle, Trump had been looking to his right and leaning forward just slightly, when at the instant, too fractionally too late for Crooks to adjust his aim, Trump turned his head slightly forward, taking the hit in his ear.
Had Trump remained in the same position as he was when Crooks sighted him in through is rifle's scope, the 5.56mm NATO style bullet would have slammed into the former president's head, hitting him just behind his right eye or temple area. The impact would have travelled threw his brain and resulted in blowing off the back of Trump's head. All eerily reminiscent to the shot which killed President John Kennedy that tragic day on November 22, 1963 in Dallas and catapulted Lee Harvey Oswald into history, forever linking him to the late president.
But, unlike Kennedy, the shooter missed, and Trump lived. The attempt, without a doubt, galvanized an already loyal legion of "MAGA" followers as no other event could, it also moved thousands, if not millions, of undecided voters into Trump's camp, having all but guaranteed Trump's victory in November.
I think it's important as a reference point for non-gun aficionados to understand something about the weapon used to shot Trump since it will be talked about weeks and months ahead. The rifle used by the would be assassin, Thomas Crooks, was an AR-15, made, in this case, by Defense Procurement Manufacturing Services ("DPMS"), the parent company of Palmetto State Armory (Trump visited there in 2023 on a campaign stop).The "AR" doesn't mean "assault rifle", but is the abbreviation of the name of the original manufacturer, ArmaLite, and is considered to be a modern sporting rifle. What sets it apart from other semi-automatic rifles is its unique military styling, which is nothing more than sales gimmick to make it look "cool".
The rifle is a semi-automatic, meaning you have to squeeze the trigger for each shot (a proficient shooter can shoot roughly 60 rounds in about a minute). AR-15's can be easily refitted to shoot most types of ammo, however, the most common is the NATO style 5.56mm (.223 caliber) bullet.
Most AR-15's are sold with a 30 round magazine, however, drum magazines holding up to 100 rounds can be purchased and may be fitted with a variety of scopes for close up(1x magnification), intermediate (4x magnification), and long range shooting (5x magnification). They are slightly high in price, ranging from $800 to a $1000 dollars.
They have a high muzzle velocity, creating a large air cavity or "cavitation" on impact, which results in massive internal injuries as the bullet tumbles through the body before existing, typically leaving a large gaping exit wound, which is probably the top reason mass murders tend to favor this type of rifle.
A great deal of finger pointing has been going on since the shooting, with various law enforcement agencies coming under extreme criticism for their failure to properly prepare in establishing a secure security perimeter and establishing a clear line of communications between the various law enforcement agencies along with specific designated coverage areas.The Secret Service, whose duty is to protect government officials, claim to have checked out the roof used by the shooters about 30 minutes before the event began. They also claim that local police were responsible for securing the outer portion of the security bubble (which they've denied). They had previously advised the Secret Service that they didn't have enough officers to securing the outer ring, however, they did have available officers in the area working.
Just prior to the assassination attempt, a local police officer spotted someone on the roof and attempted to investigate by climbing a ladder attached to the building. When he looked over onto the roof, Crooks allegedly turned his rifle on him. The officer ducked and jumped down to avoid being shot in the face. Following the shooting, local law enforcement were around and inside of the same building looking for the shooter.
The Secret Service failed to employ surveillance drones, which are commonly used to provide a bird's eye view of the event and surrounding area. Another failure was taking advantage of securing the nearby high ground. Roughly 200 yards from the speaker's platform was the town water tower, the tallest structure in Butler, yet no one apparently thought of posting spotters there. As one commentator put it, "a 10 year old playing 'Call of Duty' would have known to post lookouts there".
Additional criticisms have been made in how the Secret Service responded following the shooting. Their coverage of the former president seemed haphazard and cumbersome, especially when compared to the attempt on President Ronald Reagan's life by John Hinckley in 1981. Several of agents appeared confused and not sure of what to do. Had Crooks not been taken out, it's likely Trump could have been hit again.
There's an additional serious issue regarding a failure of communication and decision making leveled against the Secret Service. There were several similar posts on Gab, which were allegedly sent by the Secret Service sniper using Messenger. According to the text, he had the shooter lined up in his sights for two to three minutes and could clearly see the weapon. However, his repeated requests for authorization to fire were repeatedly denied.Finally, after Crooks opened fire, the Secret Service sniper took his shot and killed Crooks, but, again, without authorization from his superior. As a result, the text goes on to say, since he acted without approval he may face disciplinary measures. What's not in question is that 20 minutes elapsed between the time Secret Service snipers spotted Crooks and when Crooks open fire.
Whether that story is true or not (I suspect the latter), what is beyond dispute is that the crowd repeatedly alerted law enforcement ---local and Secret Service---that there was someone on the roof who appeared to have a rifle and even point to his exact location on the roof.
Some in the crowd were actually able to record the shooter on the roof with their Smartphones just before the first shots rang out! Yet, for some reason, no one in the Secret Service seemed inclined to act. A few event attendees reported that Secret Service officers seemed almost uninterested. Most all of them failed to act until after the shooting began. Maybe it's just me, but I would prefer my security detail be a bit more proactive!
So, where does that leave us? Frankly, it leaves a key federal law enforcement agency with egg on their face and facing investigation by the Department of Justice. I suspect that members of Congress will also want a piece of that action, so expect a few Congressional hearings.
The head of the Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle since September 2022, may also find herself unemployed (I suspect she'll quickly be given another high paying job in Washington). Besides, with an estimated net worth of $10 million dollars, I don't think any tears need be shed. A Congressional Oversight Committee has already summoned her to a investigatory hearing.Ms. Cheatle joined the Secret Service in 1995 and was involved in the evacuation of Vice President Dick Cheney during the 9/11 attack. She was later assigned to Biden's protective detail during the Obama administration. From 2019 to 2022 Cheatle was the senior security director for PepsiCo's global security.
In 2021, she was given Presidential Rank Award by President Biden. In 2022, she was appointed Director of the Secret Service (as a side note, PepsiCo gave Democrats around 548K in 2020. Just saying). In a interview with CBS News in May 2023, Cheatle pointed out that there was 48% "departure rate" of Secret Service agents and administrative personnel.
Accordingly, the agency was henceforth going to redirect its focus to diversity with the aim of hiring more individuals of color and women (with a goal of having 30% women in the agency by 2030). Even their website emphasizes diversity first and foremost. The performance of her agents on July 13th, made it obvious that the agency's primary goal should have been on recruiting the best qualified individuals rather than trying to meet quotas.
It also needs to reevaluate its mission and rededicate itself to start providing high performance training (including mandatory remedial training. To get an idea on how to implement that, she might want to talk to the Marines). The same can be said of the FBI, which has undergone as series of snafu's over the past decade or so. Law enforcement, judicial, and other non-policy making agencies need to focus on the job at hand and get out of the business of partisan politics.
Ms. Cheatle has stepped forward and acknowledged that her agency has failed. As the boss, it's her job to accept responsibly for her agencies and its personnel. Nevertheless, all of the agencies continue to figure point. Ms. Cheatle is continuing to grasp at straws and now claiming for instance that the rise of the roof prevented them from taking any action previously, and yet their own sniper provide otherwise.Perhaps the least culpable is Butler's police department. They alerted the two federal agencies that they didn't have the manpower needed that the job required. They provided who they could. However, they too failed in taking charge of the situation once the possible suspect was located. They could have immediately alert the security detail surrounding Trump in order to cover him and get the former president to a safe location.
As they acknowledged, one officer actually claimed up to roof but ducked down and left the scene. Why? It makes no sense. They could have swarmed the building using internal access ladders or immediately put an officer (or their own sharpshooter--who was present on the scene--on an adjacent roof and eliminated the threat.
The FBI's "Response Team" was dispatched immediately to the Butler to assist with the investigation. They are also conducting their own inquiry of events as well along with the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general. The FBI has been in deep dodo with Trump and the Republicans since early on in Trump's administration. No doubt they're hoping to get back into Trump's good graces.
Lastly, perhaps the biggest beneficiary of all this is Trump himself. Trump has been saying for months that Biden and the Democrats were "out to get him". In a fundraising email sent out to supporters in May, Trump alleged that Biden had secretly approved of the FBI's use of "deadly force" against him.
He also claimed that two FBI agents tried to "kill him" in a raid on his Florida residence, Mar-a-Largo. in August 2022. Given the fanaticism of some of Trump's supporters, the event of July 13th was all the proof they need. If anything, the shooting attempt has only elevated "The Donald's" persona further into a near mythical status among the faithful.Most of the politically motivated lawsuits against Trump have either been dropped or thrown out. The Supreme Court essentially gave him a "Get Out Of Jail" card when it recently ruled that a president could be charged with actions undertaken while in office. Even many of those on the fence has slid on over to the red side of the grass.
Regardless, the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, coupled with Biden's dismal public appearances and lingering questions about his mental and physical health and retaining Kamala Harris on the ticket, may have all but sealed the reelection of Donald J Trump.
As for the American public and the world, we saw on vivid display the vindication of an individual many call a "depot", an "enemy of democracy" or a "potential American Hitler". They've witnessed a nation in turmoil over alleged massive voter fraud and supposedly an attempted coup (or was it a "false flag"?). They witnessed the end result of manufactured division and hatred created in earnest by the ruling Stat Quo some 15 years ago play out for all to see.
They also vividly saw a near total failure of our federal law enforcement agencies to protect a former president and current presidential candidate, which just reenforces the image of a nation in decline and unable to adequately protect its past and possibly future president (whether that was intentional or just incompetence due to a lack of proper preparation remains to be determined. But what's beyond question is that this certainly hasn't been our "finest hour".
We must remember that as Americans we have more in common with each other than not. The ruling class wants us divided. Divided and we're more easily manipulated and controlled. We are less focused on their dismantling of the Republic. Divided, even if we are aware of the destruction of our nation, we're to weak to act. Only by coming together can we save this country and restore our democratic Republic and Constitution to its original meaning.
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