Local SWAT team assigned to Trump PA rally reveals lack of communication with Secret Service prior to assassination attempt

The Pennsylvania SWAT team assigned to protect former President Donald Trump during his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, revealed that they had no contact with the Secret Service agents responsible for the event’s security in advance of the shooting. 

In an interview with ABC News, marking the first time law enforcement personnel at the event spoke publicly about the incident, SWAT Team Officer Jason Woods shared that his team was never briefed by the Secret Service despite initially being told they would be.

“We were supposed to get a face-to-face briefing with the Secret Service snipers whenever they arrived, and that never happened,” Woods said. 

"So I think that was probably a pivotal point, where I started thinking things were wrong because it never happened," Woods added. "We had no communication." Woods further explained that he expected to have seen greater coordination and communication between the Secret Service and his team in order to secure the event. 

A spokesperson for the Secret Service declined to comment on the claims made by Woods. Spokesman Anthony Guglielmi simply stated that the agency is "committed to better understanding what happened before, during, and after the assassination attempt of former President Trump to ensure that never happens again. That includes complete cooperation with Congress, the FBI, and other relevant investigations."

This revelation adds to the growing list of known concerns regarding the Secret Service’s actions during the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, who resigned from her position after bipartisan support for her ousting, admitted in a Congressional hearing to several operational failures by the agency. Cheatle acknowledged that the Secret Service had been informed multiple times about a suspicious person at the rally, who turned out to be 20-year-old gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks. The FBI confirmed that Crooks managed to fly a drone about 200 yards from the stage just two hours before Trump’s rally started, presumably for reconnaissance purposes.

State police officers also reportedly observed Crooks near the event grounds using a rangefinder, which measures the distance to a target, once the rally started.

Despite these reports, Crooks was able to gain access to a rooftop near the stage where Trump was speaking without being stopped. Cheatle explained that they did not station any agents on that rooftop because it was a “sloped roof.” It is also unclear how the Secret Service did not notice Crooks on the rooftop with an AR-15-style rifle before he fired shots at the former president.

Bodycam footage of the moment law enforcement found Crooks’ body—after he was killed by a Secret Service sniper once he opened fire—showed an agent confirming that Crooks matched the description of the suspicious person previously photographed by the agency.

The Secret Service initially blamed local law enforcement for the shooting, saying it was their job to manage threats outside the secured zone. However, local law enforcement indicated that nearly all officers were assigned by the agency to work inside the security perimeter, an area already protected by a fence, metal detectors, and Secret Service agents.