Text messages between law enforcement personnel are shedding more light on the timeline leading up to the assassination attempt on former U.S. president Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania on July 13.
The gunman, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was shot dead on a rooftop after opening fire at Trump, striking his ear. One person at the rally was killed and others were injured. In the following days, the Secret Service and law enforcement officers faced scrutiny for how the incident was handled. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle stepped down amid the backlash. Congressional hearing are being held to investigate exactly what occurred.
The text messages give more insight into the hours leading up to the shooting and reveal a more precise timeline. The messages were sent in a group chat between local countersnipers at the rally, and were shared exclusively with the New York Times.
What do the texts reveal?
It was previously reported that the Secret Service was alerted to Crooks 20 minutes before the shooting. However, that timeline kept growing — to about an hour before — after testimony at a hearing on July 24. It was revealed that Crooks even flew a drone at the rally roughly two hours prior to the shooting.
The time stamps on the text messages help further determine the series of events — and show that law enforcement were aware of Crooks’ presence almost 90 minutes before the assassination attempt.
Here is a time-stamped list in chronological order of the text messages, per the Times report.
4:19 p.m.: A local countersniper ended his shift from the second floor of a warehouse near the rally, leaving two other countersnipers on duty at that site. He texted a group chat with his team: “Guys I am out. Be safe.” As he exited the building, he noticed a “young man with long stringy hair sitting on a picnic table near the warehouse,” per the Times.
4:26 p.m.: The local countersniper texted the group again, realizing that the person at the picnic table saw him leave the area with a rifle. “Someone followed our lead and snuck in and parked by our cars…” he wrote.
4:27 p.m.: “He knows you guys are up there…” the countersniper continued a minute later. He received a thumbs up emoji symbol from one of his colleagues in the group chat, indicating they acknowledged his message.
4:39 p.m.: “Roger that,” responded the other colleague in the group chat.
5:10 p.m.: A countersniper took photos of the man, who later was determined to be Crooks, below the warehouse where the snipers were stationed, the Times reported.
5:38 p.m.: The photos were shared in a group chat, along with a text saying the man (Crooks) was seen with a “range finder looking towards the stage.” In the same text, it said that Crooks was no longer in sight and that Secret Service snipers should be notified.
5:40 p.m.: “Call it in to command and have a uniform check it out,” the same person wrote in the group chat.
6:11 p.m.: The gunman fired and was then shot dead by law enforcement.
Why are these texts so important?
As more information emerges about the shooter and the assassination attempt, it is becoming clear that Crooks was spotted earlier than officials believed. The “security failures” of the case are being examined further in a hearing on Tuesday, held by the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
The timeline of events is crucial in understanding how law enforcement acted and to prevent such an incident from occurring again.
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