Video released by lawmaker shows aftermath of Trump rally shooting

Bodycam footage of local law enforcement officers and U.S. Secret Service personnel responding to the scene of the shooter at the Trump campaign rally in Butler County has been released by Sen. Chuck Grassley.

The footage shows officers gathering facts and recapping the timeline leading up to the Crooks’ attempt to assassinate former President Donald Trump, according to Grassley, R-Iowa.

The FBI identified Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, as the shooter. He was killed by the Secret Service just after he fired shots at Trump during the July 13 rally at the Butler Farm Show grounds.

The video, according to Grasssley, confirms:

1. Local law enforcement saw the shooter prior to his presence on the roof.

2. Local law enforcement shared pictures of the suspected shooter with U.S. Secret Service, raising questions with respect to exactly when the pictures were shared.

3. Law enforcement lost track of the suspected shooter.

4. Law enforcement sought access to a drone to secure the water tower after the shooting.

Grassley said he obtained the bodycam video from the Beaver County Emergency Services Unit in compliance with congressional requests. He said he released the video as part of his efforts to “get answers and hold agencies accountable.”

“For the past 10 days, questions have only been building regarding the catastrophic security failure that occurred on July 13. Federal agencies, particularly the Secret Service, have failed to be transparent with the American people,” he said in a news release. “This assassination attempt is a matter of significant public interest, and the public’s business ought to be public.”

Kimberly Cheatle, who had served as Secret Service director since August 2022, resigned on Tuesday. She had been facing growing calls to step down amid investigations into how the shooter was able to get so close to the Republican presidential nominee at an outdoor campaign rally in Butler.

Cheatle acknowledged Monday during a congressional committee hearing that the Secret Service was told about a suspicious person two to five times before the rally shooting. She also revealed that the roof from which Crooks opened fire had been identified as a potential vulnerability days earlier. But she failed to answer many questions about what happened, including why there were no agents on the roof.

Grassley also released the video of the shooting aftermath on his X account. Watch it here.