Donald Trump Jr. reacted to news that shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks “was able to fly a drone and get aerial footage” of the fairgrounds ahead of former President Donald Trump’s July 13 rally, noting that the U.S. Secret Service once stopped him from “flying MY OWN drone off of the beach at Mar-a-Lago” because his father was in the house.
“Just to underscore how crazy this all is, I was once prevented flying MY OWN drone off of the beach at Mar-a-Lago by USSS because my father was inside the house…” Trump Jr. said. “Now we have one literally scouting his speech!!!”
Trump Jr. was reacting to an article published in the Wall Street Journal on Friday, which revealed:
The gunman who tried to kill Donald Trump was able to fly a drone and get aerial footage of the western Pennsylvania fairgrounds shortly before the former president was set to speak there, law-enforcement officials briefed on the matter said, further underscoring the stunning security lapses ahead of Trump’s near assassination.
Officials said Crooks “flew the drone on a programmed flight path earlier in the day on July 13 to scour the Butler Farm Show grounds ahead of Trump’s ill-fated rally,” WSJ added.
As Breitbart News reported, Crooks tried to assassinate Trump while he was speaking at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday evening.
The Secret Service is now under fire for failing to stop the shooter from positioning himself on a rooftop less than 500 feet away from Trump and firing eight bullets at him.
Agents spotted Crooks on the rooftop ten minutes before Trump’s speech was set to begin, but let the 45th president go on stage anyway.
Several other Secret Service failures have been reported and can be read about here. Multiple investigations are now underway.
Meanwhile, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle — who is facing calls for her resignation, but who says she has no intentions to step down — is due to testify to the House Oversight Committee on Monday.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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