Northeast
Newly reported transcripts depict communication breakdown hindering law enforcement at Butler Trump rally
CONNOQUENESSING, Pa. – Newly reported transcripts of law enforcement communications at the Butler, Pennsylvania, Trump rally depict a communications structure that essentially isolated local and federal law enforcement from each other at key times.
Communications reported Sunday by the Washington Post also highlight the effect spotty cellular service in the rural Allegheny Valley purportedly had on preventing transmission of key messages like an officer’s photo of then-suspicious individual Thomas Crooks.
According to encrypted radio communications obtained by the newspaper, at 5:42 p.m. ET on July 13, a counter-sniper from a local law enforcement agency alerted that a “younger White male [with] long hair” was “lurking” around the AGR glass company building adjacent to the Butler Farm Show grounds – but had since disappeared from view.
Within a half-hour, that suspicious individual – Thomas Crooks – would fire shots at former President Trump from atop that low-rise building and kill a local firefighter in the process.
BUTLER LAWMAKER SLAMS ‘INAPPROPRIATE’ TREATMENT OF LOCAL POLICE AFTER TRUMP INCIDENT: ‘THROWN UNDER THE BUS’
A flag is lowered to half-mast at the front entrance of the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Monday, July 22, 2024. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital )
However, that local officer’s warning would go unheard by U.S. Secret Service because the transmission went to a trailer from which local police commanders were operating – separate from the president’s detail, the paper reported, citing Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger and a separate law enforcement source.
According to the Post, the police commander in the trailer telephoned a Pennsylvania state trooper to pass the message along.
There were at least three other key moments when communications had to be transmitted by cellphone, at a venue where – like sporting events – crowds often overwhelm the frequency.
The director of emergency services in neighboring Beaver County – which also lent personnel for the event – told the paper that agencies should not be separated from each other and instead have representatives in “the same room.”
TOP DEM WHO VISITED BUTLER SAYS LOCAL OFFICIALS TOLD HIM ‘WE NEED TO TALK MORE’ ABOUT USSS FAILURES
Rep. Glenn Ivey, left, speaks with Rep. Bennie Thompson in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 22, 2024. A bipartisan group of lawmakers was visiting the site of the July 13 assassination attempt. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital )
Butler County Sgt. Edward Lenz, commander of the “ESU” or emergency services unit, had been monitoring the radio traffic, and telephoned a state police sergeant after Crooks was seen milling around with a range-finder.
The sergeant then passed along the message to Secret Service officials in the trailer where he was stationed, according to the report.
Attempts to reach Lenz with further questions were unsuccessful.
Spotty cell service continued to hamper the investigation of Crooks, as a local law enforcement officer transmitted that he was trying to share a photo via phone.
A Beaver County sniper later spotted Crooks by the glass company building with a backpack and began moving around within the building where he was stationed to try to keep eyes on him. The sniper, Sgt. Greg Nicol, was later praised by Beaver County officials for his “old-fashioned police work.”
Nicol then transmitted that Crooks “went toward the Sheetz” – referring to the Altoona-based gas station chain’s outpost just over a city block east of the AGR building.
Former President Trump gestures with a bloodied face after multiple shots rang out during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Reuters/Brendan McDermid)
Via a graphic, the Post reported Crooks may have moved over and used an HVAC unit on the far side of the AGR glass complex to get on the roof.
Various videos have shown Crooks around that time moving about the roof.
Once a police officer was able to peek over the top of the roof, as previously reported, Crooks was seen with his rifle.
According to the Post report, as Lenz radioed the QRF or “quick response force” about the now-armed threat, shots rang out.
On Wednesday, District Attorney Goldinger said concerns from local officials went unheeded by federal agents, and that it essentially left the locals to set up their own command post, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Law enforcement from Butler, Beaver and Washington Counties reportedly set up their post the morning of the rally. The Secret Service’s command post was set up at the rear of the site – toward where Trump would face from the dais – while the county command trailer was stage-left of the former president. Crook’s perch atop the AGR glass company building was stage-right.
In response to questions about the Post report from Fox News Digital, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the agency is “committed to better understanding what happened before, during, and after the assassination attempt of former President Trump to ensure that it never happens again.”
“This includes a robust mission assurance investigation by our Office of Professional Responsibility that will meticulously examine all aspects of the event and complete cooperation with Congress, the FBI and other relevant investigations.”
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New Hampshire
Downtown Shooting | How Much Income Makes Someone ‘Rich’ | Sex Sale Gone Bad On Facebook? Nearby News NH
CONCORD, NH — Here are the Top 10 most popular stories and posts from around New Hampshire Patch sites last week.
- Concord Police Investigating The Death Of A Young Child In The City’s South End Neighborhood: Update: Dakin Street was closed to traffic for several hours during an investigation of a child found dead at a duplex on Friday morning.
- Facebook Marketplace Cleaning Services Hire Or Sex Sale Gone Bad Leads To Stabbing In Manchester: Court docs: Frank Miller of Manchester and Kendra Gokey, a homeless woman, were arrested on first-degree assault and other charges Sunday.
- Man Shot During Dispute On South State Street In Downtown Concord: Video: Breaking: A man was shot in the leg Saturday during a dispute; cops have South State Street from Thompson to Concord closed to traffic.
- Fast Food Chain Closing Locations | Queen City Killing | Meth Distributor Pleads Guilty | More: Nearby News: Also: Best sandwich shop in NH; untimely death; crashes; knife attack indictments; firefighter injured in explosion released from hospital.
- After The Snow Sunday And Monday, More Is Coming To New Hampshire, Forecasters Say: After the storm that is expected to bring 8 to 12 inches of snow to the state, more snowstorm fronts are expected to arrive this week.
- 6 To 15 Inches Of Snow Heading To The Granite State Sunday Night; Wind Gusts Up To 45 mph: Forecasters: Heavy, blinding snow is expected in central and southern New Hampshire, as well as the Seacoast, from Sunday night to Monday morning.
- National Fast Food Chain To Close Hundreds Of Restaurants; New Hampshire Locations May Be Impacted: The chain that closed hundreds of locations in 2024 expects to shutter approximately 360 nationwide during the first half of 2026.
- Police Arrest Man On Felony Charges After South State Street Shooting In Downtown Concord: Follow-Up: David Anziani faces first-degree and second-degree assault, reckless conduct, and felonious firearm charges after a shooting on Saturday.
- Hollis Teen Faces Assault Charge, Accused Of An ‘Unprovoked’ Attack In Downtown Nashua In November: Connor Cook was arrested in late December after being accused of punching another man in the face on Main Street and then fleeing the scene.
- How Much Income Is Needed To Be Considered ‘Rich’ In New Hampshire?: A new analysis details the annual household income required to be considered among the top 10 percent of earners in the Granite State.
Here are some other posts readers may have missed:
Child Death Investigation | Queen City Tax Cap Fight | Fun Things To Do This Weekend | More: PM Patch NH
New Jersey
Pa., N.J., Del. Democrats decry U.S. attack on Iran: ‘Americans do not want war’
U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Chester County, said in a post on X that although “Iran is a very bad actor on the world stage … the American people have not been given any evidence of an appreciable change, and Congress did not authorize any action.”
“President Trump, who promised no wars, is now again putting the lives of our men and women in uniform in grave danger all while trampling all over the Constitution,” she said.
“Trump promised Americans no new wars,” state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, D-Philadelphia, said in a post on X. “Every word out of his damn mouth is a lie.”
U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Delaware County, said in a post on X that Trump has “done nothing” to prove that the military action will make Americans safer.
“The people of Iran deserve peace and democracy, but the United States must support these goals without plunging our nation into another endless war,” Scanlon said.
U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans, D-Philadelphia, joined Kim in calling for a vote on the War Powers Resolution “to stop Trump’s reckless warmongering.”
“After claiming last June he ‘completely and totally obliterated’ Iran’s nuclear program, President Trump launched yet another illegal, ill-conceived attack on Iran,” Evans said in a statement. “These escalations only put American lives, at home and abroad, at greater risk and drag our country towards another endless war.”
In a post on X, U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Montgomery County, called the military operation in Iran the result of “the erratic decision-making of an irrational President.”
“Americans do not want war,” Dean said. “Americans do not want to send their sons and daughters into foreign conflict. Americans do not want to live in fear of an ever-escalating, volatile situation.”
In a statement, U.S. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., lambasted the military action as “a reckless new war of choice with no clear strategy and no clear end point.”
“This is not how a democracy goes to war,” Coons said. “Less than five years after the end of the longest war in American history, the United States is once again staring down another open-ended conflict with a hostile country in the Middle East that could cost the lives of many American service members.”
U.S. Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., said in a statement that Trump’s “reckless actions demonstrate a troubling lack of clear foreign policy strategy” and also called for a vote on the War Powers Resolution.
“He has inched us closer to war on a whim and the last thing we need is another open-ended war in the Middle East,” she said. “Escalation without a clear strategy risks putting Americans in harm’s way and sets a dangerous precedent, signaling to adversaries like China and Russia that there are no consequences to aggression.”
U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., said in a post on X that he is praying for “our brave troops and our steadfast allies who stand with us during this challenging and noble mission.”
“The president has given the ayatollahs a chance for a deal, and they have rejected a path to peace and prosperity,” McCormick said.
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., joined Republicans in praising the operations.
“President Trump has been willing to do what’s right and necessary to produce real peace in the region. God bless the United States, our great military, and Israel,” he said in a post on X.
Pennsylvania Treasurer and GOP gubernatorial candidate Stacy Garrity said in a post on X that she “will always stand with the brave men and women of our military who serve with strength, discipline, and honor to protect our nation.”
This story may be updated.
WHYY News reporter Phil Davis contributed to this story.
Pennsylvania
Quakertown police chief on leave after clash with student protesters
From Delco to Chesco and Montco to Bucks, what about life in Philly’s suburbs do you want WHYY News to cover? Let us know!
Quakertown Police Chief Scott McElree is on leave after he was seen on video placing a student in a chokehold during a high school walkout earlier this month.
Borough Solicitor Peter Nelson told 6abc and other outlets Friday that McElree, who also serves as the borough manager, is currently on workers’ compensation leave. A request for comment from Nelson was not immediately returned Saturday.
The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office is currently investigating the police department’s response to a student-led protest against the Trump administration federal enforcement actions on Feb. 20.
After more than 30 students walked out of Bucks County’s Quakertown Community High School, a violent confrontation with Quakertown officers saw at least five students arrested. The students have since been charged with aggravated assault, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Police claim that students threw snowballs at the responding officers on the scene and kicked their cars.
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