Donald Trump is lucky to be alive.
The Secret Service failed spectacularly in its mission to protect Trump.
And a Pennsylvania SWAT officer made one bone-chilling admission about the mistake that almost got Trump killed.
Local police left in the dark
The security detail for Donald Trump’s infamous rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, was a joint operation between the Secret Service and local police.
Prior to the event, Trump had been denied requests for more Secret Service resources on multiple occasions.
That meant that his protective detail had to rely heavily on local law enforcement.
Beaver County SWAT team sniper Jason Woods revealed to ABC News in an interview that there was no communication between the Secret Service and his SWAT team prior to the event.
Woods explained, “We were supposed to get a face-to-face briefing with the Secret Service members whenever they arrived . . . That never happened.”
Woods said that the lack of communication was a big part of the security failure that led to Trump nearly getting assassinated.
Woods continued, “So I think that was probably a pivotal point, where I started thinking things were wrong because it never happened . . . We had no communication.”
The first time Woods communicated with the Secret Service was after Trump got hit in the ear.
“It was too late,” Woods added.
The Secret Service did not deny Woods’ allegations when ABC News asked the agency about its recollection of events.
Text messages published by The New York Times revealed that counter-snipers identified the gunmen two hours prior to assassination attempt.
Communication breakdown
The typical coordination process between local law enforcement and the Secret Service to coordinate was neglected.
House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green (R-TN) visited Butler, Pennsylvania where the shooting took place as part of his committee’s investigation into the attempt on Trump’s life.
A police officer told Green that in the past, local law enforcement was allowed inside the Secret Service command center where security was coordinated.
Green told Fox News Digital, “Normally, according to the local sheriff, they have done these events in the past with Secret Service and always had one of their people in that Secret Service control room . . . Apparently, that was not allowed this time for some reason.”
There was a massive failure in communication between the Secret Service and local police that led to the gunman getting on the roof of a building with a clear line of sight to the stage fewer than 150 yards away.
A Beaver County SWAT member identified the gunman and notified others, but the would-be assassin was still able to access the roof.
The Washington Post reported that some of Trump’s advisors did not understand why the warning was ignored and the former President’s speech was not held up.
Trump told Fox News host Jesse Watters, “Nobody mentioned it. Nobody said there was a problem . . . They could’ve said, ‘Let’s wait for 15 minutes, 20 minutes, five minutes,’ something. Nobody said — I think that was a mistake.”
The Secret Service nearly got a former President killed, and there must be accountability for that colossal failure.
Informed American will keep you up-to-date on any developments to this ongoing story.
