Rep. Mike Kelly's task force releases final report on Trump assassination attempt in Butler County

A task force led by a Republican congressman from Southwestern Pennsylvania on Tuesday capped a monthslong investigation of the attempted assassination of President-elect Donald Trump at a Butler County campaign rally in July by releasing dozens of recommendations to improve the U.S. Secret Service after widespread criticism of the agency.

In a 180-page final report, the bipartisan Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump made 25 specific recommendations and 11 general ones. They included centralizing security operations, improving interagency communication, recording all Secret Service radio transmissions and offering more training for drone operators.

“The task force and each of its members condemns the horrific assault on President-elect Trump,” the group wrote in the report’s conclusion. “The events of July 13, 2024, were tragic and preventable, and the litany of related security failures are unacceptable.”

The report added: “The Secret Service’s zero fail mission allows no margin for error, let alone for the many errors described in this report.”

The task force, created by legislation that unanimously passed the U.S. House in July, was chaired by Butler County Rep. Mike Kelly.

The 13-member group said it reviewed more than 18,000 pages of documents from federal, state and local agencies, as well as nearly 50 transcribed interviews. Kelly also issued five subpoenas in connection with the task force’s work.

Spokesmen for Trump did not respond Tuesday for requests for comment.

A lone gunman — Thomas Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park — opened fire at the Butler Farm Show grounds, striking the former president in the ear, killing rallygoer Corey Comperatore and seriously wounding two others.

Less than 16 seconds after Crooks began firing, a Secret Service countersniper killed him.

The assassination attempt led the Secret Service director to resign amid withering bipartisan interrogation on Capitol Hill. The agency struggled to explain how a nursing home aide two years out of high school managed to carry out his plot right under the noses of law enforcement.

A disjointed response

The report paints a picture of confusion on July 13, in which specific roles for different law enforcement agencies were unclear. Kelly’s task force cataloged multiple operational failures.

Secret Service agents’ advance work to keep the rally site secure was described as “fragmented,” for instance, and the report criticized the agency as “overly reliant” on state and local resources.

On the day of the shooting, two local law enforcement officers left their posts to look for a suspicious individual they spotted, who later was identified as Crooks.

A Butler Township police officer tried to access the rooftop where officials saw Crooks positioning himself minutes before the shooting but failed to stop it.

Numerous group chats among members of law enforcement illustrated the disjointed nature of the response.

The agency failed to have operating drones — referred to as counter unmanned aerial systems — on site on the day of the rally.

As well, the Secret Service failed to clearly delineate roles and responsibilities and did not communicate clearly with other law enforcement agencies.

They also did not secure the AGR office building, on whose rooftop Crooks perched before opening fire.

“The fragmented communications structure and lack of timely information-sharing resulted in missed opportunities for the Secret Service and its state and local partners to apprehend Crooks and make informed decisions about managing the protectee prior to shots fired,” the report said.

Line-of-sight concerns

The task force’s report recommended that Secret Service agents review plans from all agencies providing security at a political event.

Those same agents need to focus on potential threats both inside and beyond a site’s perimeter, the report said.

Going forward, according to the task force, agents need to more deeply document any line-of-sight concerns for possible shooters.

Those concerns directly referenced Crooks, who fired eight rounds at Trump while perched on the unguarded rooftop near the farm show grounds, the report said.

Armed with a rifle and a rangefinder, Crooks prepared for about six minutes to take his shot with an AR-style rifle just 400 feet from where Trump spoke.

When Trump returned to the farm show grounds Oct. 5, greeted by an estimated crowd of 20,000 supporters, security was noticeably tighter.

More Secret Service snipers were visible on nearby rooftops. Law enforcement officials set up more barriers blocking sight lines to the stage.

And Trump delivered remarks from behind protective glass at the front of the podium.