New bodycam footage from the Pennsylvania rally where Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt has revealed that Thomas Matthew Crooks, who opened fire on the former US President, was identified as a suspicious individual before the incident unfolded.
The footage, obtained from the Beaver County Emergency Services Unit and released on X by Republican and Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, shows local police officers and a man appearing to be a Secret Service agent, discussing how the 20-year-old would-be assassin was spotted at the site hours before he attempted to kill Trump.
"So, this is the guy," the Secret Service agent says as the law enforcement officials stand near the lifeless body of Thomas Crooks with a visible blood trail.
The agent is heard telling a Beaver County Emergency Service Unit officer that Thomas Crooks appeared to be the suspicious person who was previously reported to them.
"This is him," the police officer responds to the agent.
He also informs the federal agent that a police sniper took photos of Thomas Crooks, including of him riding a bicycle, as seen in the bodycam footage.
"That's the sniper that sent the original picture and seen him come from the bike and set the book bag down and then lost sight of him," the Beaver County officer tells the Secret Service agent.
They then scroll through pictures of Thomas Crooks taken earlier on a phone.
The 20-year-old opened fire at Donald Trump on July 13, which narrowly missed his face and grazed the Republican presidential nominee's ear. The bullet injured three other rallygoers, killing a 50-year-old volunteer firefighter.
A Secret Service agent quickly gunned down and killed Thomas Crooks.
Releasing the video on X, Chuck Grassley demanded "detailed answers" on security failures from the Secret Service. "Transparency brings accountability," he tweeted.
The latest footage came after Kimberly Cheatle resigned as the Secret Service Director on Tuesday amid fierce criticism over security lapses at the Pennsylvania rally, and amid calls from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers to step down. President and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas appointed Deputy Director Ronald Rowe as the Acting Director of the Secret Service.
"I take full responsibility for the security lapse," Kimberly Cheatle said in an email to staff obtained by The Associated Press.
In a statement, US President Joe Biden said that the incident that unfolded at the July 13 rally "can never happen again" and he planned to appoint a new Secret Service director soon.
SENATOR PUSHES FOR ANSWERS
Senator Chuck Grassley called the assassination bid on Donald Trump a "catastrophic security failure" and sought answers, claiming the Secret Service had "failed to be transparent with the American people".
He also released a letter, addressed to Homeland chief Mayorkas and Secret Service Acting Director Rowe. In it, he claimed to have received intelligence that the Secret Service had joint jurisdiction with local police over the AGR International building where Thomas Crooks was present.
The federal agency had previously claimed they were only in charge of the rally grounds, and that local police were responsible for securing AGR. An unconfirmed map, which the Senator attached with the letter, displayed different state law enforcement sectors the rally grounds had been broken into, but the AGR building is not included in any sector.
"Is the below document accurate?" Chuck Grassley asked in the letter.
The Senator sought answers to a series of questions pertaining to the Secret Service's operation security plan, revealing the locations and role of all federal security personnel assigned to duty on July 13 at the Pennsylvania rally.
Source: India Today