BUTLER, Pa. — Former President Trump’s stirring return to the scene of his assassination attempt Saturday came under the watchful eye of increased security.
The Secret Service flooded the site after facing withering criticism that it was unprepared and understaffed during the July 13 stump speech that turned into a bloodbath that stunned the world.
As a massive sea of roughly 20,000 Trump supporters packed into the Butler Farm Show grounds, security was notably tighter than at the deadly rally three months ago.
Bomb-sniffing dogs and an enhanced Secret Service and Transportation Security Administration presence was seen at the front gates — and speakers gave their remarks from behind bulletproof glass.
On the rooftop from where gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, opened fire before being shot dead, a lone security sniper sat in wait.
Rallygoers took notice of the heightened security measures.
“Secret Service wouldn’t let me bring a cigarette lighter in today, but did on July 13,” said local John Burkert, a 46-year-old behavioral health specialist.
Crooks, 20, managed to get off a shot at Trump from a sloped roof just 130 yards from where the former president was speaking, nicking him in the ear and causing pandemonium before he was killed by a Secret Service sniper.
The attack left a 50-year-old retired fire chief in the audience dead and two others severely injured.
Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle resigned in July after facing bipartisan outrage over agency failures.
In a damning admission to ABC, Cheatle said agents were not posted on the roof where Crooks took his shot because it was too “sloped,” creating an unacceptable “safety factor” for the agents.
The Secret Service had also been aware of Crooks’ presence at the rally for more than an hour before Trump took the stage.
They frisked Crooks before the event and found him carrying a rangefinder, which is used by hunters to determine distances. They allowed Crooks to enter anyway.
A bipartisan report from the Senate Homeland Security Committee found that among other things the Secret Service “denied specific requests” for additional security resources at the event and that it “failed to effectively coordinate with state and local law enforcement.”
The USSS counter-drone system was also “inoperable for hours” because of technical difficulties with no backup in place, according to the report.
But on Friday, a drone was seen flying over the venue at the Butler Farm Show fairgrounds, as law enforcement officials examined buildings, including Crook’s former perch. At the southern end of the property, law enforcement walked the perimeter, scoping out potential risks.
Long tractor trailers were set up along the perimeter to block the line of sight of potential attackers. Chain-link fences already on the property were covered in black tarp to further obstruct any mischief. Trump is expected to also be protected by a barrier of ballistic glass when he takes the stage.
“We are coordinating closely with the Pennsylvania State Police as well as local law enforcement in and around Butler Township. We are also leveraging other federal security resources to expand personnel and technology,” Secret Service Chief of Communications Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement Friday.
