Law enforcement 'lost sight' of Thomas Matthew Crooks before attempted assassination of Trump: bodycam

Bodycam footage released on Tuesday by Senator Chuck Grassley showed local law enforcement and a Secret Service agent standing on the roof near the body of the gunman who attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump at his campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, discussing how Crooks had been photographed by law enforcement, but authorities "lost sight" of him.

The footage, obtained through a congressional request according to Grassley, showed the perspective from a Beaver County Emergency Service Unit officer's body camera. The video depicted multiple officers and a Secret Service agent on the rooftop near the body of 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. The Secret Service agent is seen confirming that Crooks matched the description of a suspicious person previously photographed by the Secret Service before the shooting.

"A Beaver County sniper seen and sent the pictures out, this is him," the officer wearing the bodycam said in the video, referring to Crooks.

The officer told the Secret Service agent that a sniper in a nearby building had photographed Crooks. "That’s the sniper who sent the original pictures and seen him come from the bike and then set the bag back down and then lost sight of him," the officer said. "He’s the one who sent the pictures out. I don’t know if you got the same ones I did."

The Secret Service agent also mentioned that individuals who filmed the gunman with their phones were detained for questioning, saying, "There's people detained who were filming...maybe they were involved, maybe they weren't," However, it has since been confirmed by the Secret Service that the gunman acted alone.

In a congressional hearing on Monday, now former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle confirmed that before the shooting, law enforcement had been dispatched to identify and interview Crooks due to his suspicious behavior. However, she did not provide further details about the timing of this communication.

"At a number of our protected sites, there are suspicious individuals that are identified all the time," she said. "It doesn't necessarily mean that they constitute a threat."

On Tuesday, Cheatle resigned from her position as the Secret Service faced bipartisan criticism for the widespread security failures at the event. The gunman killed an attendee in the crowd, critically injured two others, and left former President Trump with a wound to the right ear.