A source familiar with the situation told NBC News that the gunman that shot former President Donald Trump in the ear at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday flew a drone over the event site just hours before Trump mounted the platform.
According to the source, DJI’s camera drone gave gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, an aerial perspective that may have helped him organize his assault.
At a Trump event in Butler, Pennsylvania, Crooks was shot by the Secret Service, and Trump was hit in the ear during the attempted murder.
Crooks’s use of the drone was initially revealed by The Wall Street Journal.
It looks like the aerial surveillance was just one more in a string of security lapses that let the gunman get close to killing the former president.
Federal authorities frequently forbid drones above sites they are protecting; it is unclear whether this was the case with the Butler event.
Drones frequently leave electronic traces of their flight patterns; it’s unclear how investigators found out about the drone flight, but DJI might have kept a record of the journey.
According to a senior law enforcement source, Crooks’ car included a drone and drone equipment.
A spokesman for the Secret Service Anthony Guglielmi said the organization will assist investigators in discovering the truth about what transpired, but he did not address specific queries about drone flight regulations in such an instance.
He declared, “The safety of those it protects is entirely the responsibility of the Secret Service.” In order to make sure that the assassination attempt on former President Trump never occurs again, we are dedicated to learning more about what transpired prior to, during, and following the event. This entails full collaboration with the FBI, Congress, and other pertinent inquiries.
The attempt to murder Trump may have had a reason, but it is still being looked into.
After the shooting, the Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General opened three investigations against the Secret Service, one of which looked at how the agency had protected the Butler political campaign event.
In addition, House Speaker Mike Johnson has promised a legislative probe, and House Oversight Committee member Kimberly Cheatle has been invited to testify before the committee on Monday.