Secret Service resources diverted from PA Trump rally to Jill Biden event: report

Before former President Donald Trump's campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where he was the target of a failed assassination attempt, Secret Service resources were reportedly redirected to a Biden campaign event helmed by Jill Biden as both the First Lady and Trump were in the same state at the time, according to Real Clear Politics White House ad National Political Correspondent Susan Crabtree. This decision was part of the Secret Service’s protocol to treat Trump as a "former president," despite him being the current frontrunner for president in the upcoming election.

Two sources within the Secret Service community confirmed this decision, according to Crabtree. Crabtree also reported that there were a large number of supplemental agents from different field offices providing security at Trump’s rally because his regular detail had been “overworked.” His rally featured only two counter-snipers.

The policy decision to divert resources away from Trump’s rally, if proven to be true, comes as the Secret Service is facing continued scrutiny for the series of events that led to the near-fatal assassination attempt. The gunman, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks from Bethel Park, was able to access a rooftop less than 150 yards from the rally stage and fire multiple rounds at the former president before being killed by the Secret Service. A report by the Associated Press also revealed that a local police officer climbed the rooftop Crooks was positioned on and encountered him before the shots were fired.

Former President Trump did, however, extend his gratitude to the Secret Service in a statement posted on Truth Social. "I want to thank The United States Secret Service, and all of Law Enforcement, for their rapid response on the shooting that just took place in Butler, Pennsylvania,” Trump said.