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Multiple security failures allowed would-be assassin to get clear shot at Trump

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Multiple security failures allowed would-be assassin to get clear shot at Trump

A string of security failures led to a gunman being able to fire multiple shots at former President Trump, killing a retired fire chief and wounding two others at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa., according to law enforcement sources.

Although armed security personnel responded swiftly, rushing a bloodied Trump off the stage after Saturday’s assassination attempt, questions about security flaws are mounting.

Among the issues that have been exposed in recent days:

  • How the gunman was able to gain access to the roof of a nearby building and why authorities were not able to stop him before he opened fire: The building was meant to be covered by local law enforcement because it was not in the immediate vicinity of the venue, according to law enforcement sources not authorized to speak publicly about the investigation. The details of how the U.S. Secret Service and local authorities divided tasks for the rally remain unclear.
  • When authorities learned of the threat: Videos show that some in the crowd noticed the gunman and tried to get the attention of law enforcement at least a minute before he fired at Trump. Local police say an officer got onto the roof just before the shooting but had to retreat because the gunman moved to shoot at him.
  • Whether Secret Service sharpshooters could have fired on the gunman before he launched his attack: Videos from the rally show Trump standing at a lectern with two Secret Service snipers positioned on a rooftop in the background. In the seconds leading up to Trump’s being struck by gunfire, the snipers can be seen looking through a scope and adjusting their rifles before firing. Investigators also are examining those tactics, according to law enforcement sources not authorized to discuss the inquiry.

Twenty-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks shot at the former president with an AR-style rifle from more than 450 feet away. A bullet grazed Trump’s ear before Secret Service snipers returned fire and killed Crooks a few seconds after.

Federal officials have defended the Secret Service while acknowledging security failures at the rally.

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An FBI investigation is underway, and an independent review will be conducted on the Secret Service’s actions at the campaign event, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas said during a news briefing Monday.

A person not authorized to discuss the investigation said that Crooks’ father purchased the rifle in 2013 and that Crooks purchased about 50 rounds from Allegheny Arms & Gun Works in Bethel Park, Pa., on the morning of the shooting.

Steve Gordon, a retired Los Angeles Police Department SWAT team sniper who reviewed social media video of the shooting, said he saw a slight delay before Secret Service snipers fired on Crooks. Gordon said the delay was caused by the agent trying to find his target.

The investigation also is examining communications between local police and the Secret Service.

Despite public criticism of security at the rally, Mayorkas offered his support to the Secret Service and its leadership.

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“What you saw onstage on Saturday, with respect to individuals putting their own lives at risk for the protection of another, is exactly what the American public should see every single day,” Mayorkas said, referring to the agents who surrounded Trump after he was shot.

In an interview with ABC News on Monday, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said the shooting “was unacceptable” and “something that shouldn’t happen again.”

“It was obviously a situation that as a Secret Service agent, no one ever wants to occur in their career,” she said. “The buck stops with me.”

Cheatle said local police were inside the American Glass Research building where Crooks was positioned.

“There was local police in that building. There was local police in the area that were responsible for the outer perimeter of the building,” she said.

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Cheatle said the Secret Service shared support for the building where Crooks was as well as the inner perimeter at the rally site.

“And then we sought assistance from our local counterparts for the outer perimeter,” she added.

People take cover after former President Trump is shot during a campaign rally in Butler, Pa., on July 13, 2024.

(Evan Vucci / Associated Press)

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Mayorkas said it’s not unusual for the Secret Service to rely on other law enforcement agencies during a presidential campaign to fill out tasks, noting that is especially true for the Trump campaign.

“We draw upon resources not only across the federal government, but with state and local law enforcement,” he said.

Mayorkas declined to comment on specifics of the security detail or communications between the Secret Service and local law enforcement.

The Pennsylvania State Police said in a statement that the Secret Service requested 30 to 40 of their officers to assist in securing the rally’s inner perimeter Saturday.

The agency said securing the property and building where Crooks was perched on the roof was not part of the officers’ duties. It remains unclear which agency was responsible for securing that building.

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Law enforcement became aware of Crooks after people alerted security that a man was acting strangely outside the rally venue. Attendees saw Crooks pacing near magnetometers at the event entrance, according to reporting from the Associated Press.

The tip sparked a search for Crooks, who was able to elude security and climbed onto the roof.

In multiple videos from the rally and shared on social media, attendees can be heard shouting, “He’s got a gun!” as they point to the nondescript rooftop where Crooks was positioned.

When local police were alerted to the armed man lying on the roof, officers tried to climb up but were deterred when the gunman pointed his weapon at them, sending them ducking for cover, Butler County Sheriff Michael Slupe told local news stations.

Although While the gunman was visible to those at the back of the building, the angle of the roof meant it was far harder for Secret Service snipers to see him until he aimed over the peak with his gun.

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Rally attendee and Butler resident David Bocci was seated about 50 to 60 yards away from Trump’s stage on Saturday.

He said he watched as armed Secret Service snipers atop the building behind Trump looked around with binoculars. About three minutes later, he heard what he thought were fireworks. When the noises kept going, he realized they were gunshots. He said he heard the Secret Service yell, “President down!” and panic broke out.

Bocci dropped to the ground with the rest of the crowd before seeing Trump get back up and raise a fist in the air a few moments later.

“It was mind-blowing to me that [Secret Service] were looking and aiming that way for so long and somehow the shooter still got shots off first,” he said.

Men in dark uniforms positioned behind guns on tripods on a roof

Police snipers return fire after shots rang out during former President Trump’s campaign rally in Butler, Pa., on July 13, 2024.

(Gene J. Puskar / Associated Press)

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Mayorkas did not speak about any specific flaws in Saturday’s security detail.

He declined to say how security has changed for the Trump campaign and for President Biden’s administration. But the direction of the Biden administration, the Secret Service will now also provide a security detail to independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

“The Secret Service enhanced former President Trump’s protection based on the evolving nature of threats to the former president and his imminent shift from presumptive nominee to nominee. This includes enhancements related to securing the former president during the Republican National Convention,” Mayorkas said during Monday’s news briefing.

Details of those enhancements would not be made public because they involve sensitive tactics and procedures, he said.

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Troy Douthett with the Butler City Council dismissed as “hogwash” the Secret Service’s claim that the shooter was outside its security perimeter.

“Anything in sight should be under their watch,” said Douthett, an independent who voted for Trump in 2016 but did not vote in 2020.

“Local law enforcement is not equipped for protecting a president. That’s just insanity to me. We would have full expectation that the professionals would be professional,” he added.

On Monday, the FBI gained access to Crook’s cellphone, searched his car and home and conducted nearly 100 interviews of “law enforcement personnel, event attendees and other witnesses,” according to a news release from the agency.

The bureau has also received “hundreds of digital media tips” from the public, including images and videos from the scene. Anyone with information can contact the FBI at tips.fbi.gov or (800) 225-5324.

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Times staff writers Goldberg and Lin reported from Pennsylvania, Solis and Winton from Los Angeles.

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Israel shares intelligence warning Iran plotted new assassination attempt against Trump: report

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Israel shares intelligence warning Iran plotted new assassination attempt against Trump: report

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Israel recently shared intelligence with the United States indicating Iran had developed a fresh plan to assassinate President Donald Trump, according to a Wall Street Journal report Thursday citing people familiar with the matter.

The reported intelligence would mark an escalation in the longstanding threats against Trump, who Iran has repeatedly vowed to retaliate against over the 2020 U.S. strike that killed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Gen. Qassem Soleimani. 

The White House referred Fox News Digital to Trump’s remarks Wednesday when asked about the report.

TRUMP FACES UNPRECEDENTED THIRD ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

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President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, July 8, 2026. Trump addressed threats against his life after a report said Israel shared intelligence with the United States about an alleged new Iranian assassination plot. (Kerem Uzel/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“They want to take out the U.S. leader — me. I’m on whatever list. I saw this morning I’m on every single one of their lists,” Trump said. “And, so far, I guess I’ve been a bit lucky, but maybe that doesn’t last very long. These are evil, sick people. And we have to root out that cancer. That cancer. You know what you do? You’ve got to cut out cancer early. And that’s the way I feel.”

Fox News Digital has also reached out to Israel’s Embassy in Washington and Iran’s Mission to the United Nations for comment.

The Journal reported the intelligence surfaced as Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have diverged in recent weeks over how to proceed after last month’s conflict with Iran. Netanyahu has advocated for continuing military pressure on Tehran, while Trump has sought to preserve a fragile ceasefire after U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

NETANYAHU REJECTS REPORTS OF A RIFT WITH PRESIDENT TRUMP, SAYS THE TWO REMAIN ALIGNED ON IRAN

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President Donald Trump, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House March 25, 2019. The leaders spoke Thursday after The Wall Street Journal reported Israel had shared intelligence with the United States about an alleged new Iranian plot targeting Trump. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Trump and Netanyahu spoke Thursday and agreed to continue coordination between the two countries, according to a statement from Netanyahu’s office, which said Trump also updated the Israeli leader on recent U.S. activity in the Gulf.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump. (Avi Ohayon/GPO)

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Iranian mourners at the funeral for Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei chanted for Trump’s death and displayed a banner that said, “We Will Kill Trump,” according to the Journal.

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Iran has publicly vowed for years to retaliate against Trump over the U.S. operation that killed Soleimani, the former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force, in Baghdad in January 2020.

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Iran ceasefire is ‘over,’ Trump says, and orders additional strikes

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Iran ceasefire is ‘over,’ Trump says, and orders additional strikes

A tentative armistice between the United States and Iran reached less than a month ago appeared all but dead Wednesday after the two sides traded fresh military strikes, and as President Trump directed further attacks on the Islamic Republic.

The escalation marked a dramatic turn after the Trump administration spent weeks selling a diplomatic breakthrough with Tehran that proved controversial across the political aisle, lifting oil sanctions and a naval blockade on Iran in exchange for the promise of talks over the status of the Strait of Hormuz and its decades-old nuclear program.

Now, speaking to reporters at the NATO summit in Turkey, Trump said he believed the truce — which diplomats describe as a memorandum of understanding — was “over” and that it was a “waste of time” dealing with Iranian leadership.

“They’re scum. They’re sick people,” Trump said of Iranian leaders, whom he had characterized last month as “very rational people” and “very nice to deal with.”

The president’s dim views of the ceasefire agreement’s fate were shared by Iran’s foreign ministry, which issued a statement on Wednesday saying the American attacks, the reinstatement of a U.S. naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, and Israel’s continuing attacks in Lebanon rendered “important and fundamental” parts of the deal “ineffective.”

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The truce’s unraveling was underscored by Trump ordering the U.S. military to launch a series of strikes against Iran on Wednesday afternoon to “further degrade their ability to threaten” the commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

“The United States is holding Iran accountable for recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews freely navigating a vital international waterway,” U.S. Central Command said in a statement on social media.

Earlier in the day, Trump signaled that the United States planned to “hit them hard” and floated the possibility of taking over Kharg Island, which is vital to Iran’s economy. His remarks quickly prompted oil prices to rise and global stock markets to fall, a worry that Trump acknowledged but which did not seem to sway his decision-making in relation to Iran.

“If we hit Iran, oil goes up a little bit, it is all right,” Trump said. He later added that the United States may “do some other thing that could lift it a little bit, but I don’t think it’s gonna lift it a lot at all.”

As Trump signals the continuation of fighting, his administration has been seeking more than $67 billion in funding to cover expenses related to the Iran war, a request that Congress has not yet approved as lawmakers have been split over the president’s handling of the conflict.

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“The American people are paying the price for Trump’s total failure in Iran,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement Wednesday. “Our troops are back in harm’s way and high gas costs are continuing to punish working families.”

The president’s stance on the war marked the latest setback to a fragile truce that has barely held since the 14-page agreement was signed June 17, as the U.S. and Iran engaged over the last few weeks in cycles of attacks and counterattacks.

Trump was noticeably angrier at Iran on Wednesday as he cast doubt over the deal. Last month, Trump had complimented Iranian leadership for trying to reach a peace deal and celebrated the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping route for the world’s oil and gas. But based on his remarks, it was clear he was out of patience.

“I am not happy with them,” Trump said. “They’re cuckoo. There’s something wrong with these people. For 47 years, they’ve been the bully of the Middle East and they are not the bully anymore. They are not the bully anymore.”

Trump expressed frustration with Iran’s negotiators and their resistance to abiding by U.S. demands to reopen the strait. When asked if he intended to send troops to Iran, the president dismissed the idea.

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“Why would I go in now?” Trump said. “I’d go in when they’re completely eliminated or an agreement is made.”

Still, the president kept the door open for negotiations, saying that his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner “want to negotiate.”

“They’re good people, Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, but they have to come back to me,” Trump said. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s just a waste of time dealing with [the Iranians]. They’re liars.”

The latest breakdown to the ceasefire followed a now-familiar chain reaction of tit-for-tat attacks, starting with a series of strikes on three oil tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, including a Qatari vessel carrying natural gas, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center.

The Qatari tanker was off the coast of Oman when it was hit and caught fire, the maritime monitor said, in what experts say was a move to thwart ships attempting to use an alternate transit route to the one Iran specified. Iran did not claim responsibility, but a report on Iranian state television said the Qatari tanker came under attack after ignoring warnings to turn back.

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The two other vessels were damaged but were able to continue to their destination, according to the U.K. group.

Qatar, which has played a vital role in facilitating negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, condemned the attack on its tanker as “unacceptable.”

The U.S. responded with a wave of strikes against more than 80 Iranian targets aimed at “impos[ing] heavy costs for targeting and attacking commercial shipping crewed by innocent civilians in an international waterway,” according to a statement from U.S. Central Command. That tally included roughly 60 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps small boats in the strait.

Iranian state media said U.S. strikes targeted Sirik, Qeshm Island and Bushehr and Bandar Abbas, while a U.S. drone strike on the port city of Mahshahr killed one Revolutionary Guard member.

Ahead of the strikes, the White House revoked the 60-day temporary license given to Tehran to sell and deliver oil during the truce.

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Iran’s military countered with its own strikes on 85 U.S. military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait; it also shot down an MQ-9 drone, according to a statement on Wednesday.

Kuwait said its military intercepted two ballistic missiles and 13 drones, but that none had resulted in material damage or casualties.

Global oil prices surged 6% on news of Trump’s reversal on the deal, rising to more than $78 a barrel, down from the peak during the war but still above prewar levels.

The renewed violence appeared to have little effect on the funeral for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli strike on Feb. 28, in the war’s opening hours.

The funeral, a days-long period of mourning, is set to end on Thursday, when Khamenei’s body will return from Iraq to be buried in the city of Mashhad, his birthplace. Negotiations were to begin once more.

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In his remarks Wednesday, Trump said Iranian leaders had asked for a “timeout” to attend the funeral, and that he had promised not to kill them.

“And I said give it to them, and they start shooting missiles,” Trump said.

Whether those talks — which were meant to deal with the thorniest issues between the two countries, including the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear program — will go ahead remains unclear. Iran, for its part, maintained a defiant attitude.

“The era of bullying and extortion is over,” wrote Mohammad Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliamentary speaker. “It leads nowhere. We don’t fold.”

Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior advisor to the supreme leader, posted on X that Trump’s policy had “driven the region towards fire.”

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“We had previously warned that the region is not a place for the political gambling of small countries, and we have repeatedly proven that adventures are met with an immediate response,” he wrote.

He added that the Axis of Resistance — a reference to Iran’s network of allied groups in Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen — would not be “silent against humiliation and adventurism” and has “its finger on the trigger.”

Bulos reported from Beirut and Ceballos from Washington.

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Omar’s disclosures erased millions, leaving her with potential negative net worth. She won’t explain why.

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Omar’s disclosures erased millions, leaving her with potential negative net worth. She won’t explain why.

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Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., refused to address her revised financial disclosures that could imply she has a negative net worth after the progressive lawmaker dramatically reducing the reported value of assets tied to her husband’s business ventures.

“Can you tell us if your husband still has the consulting business and the wine business?” Fox News Digital asked Omar.

The congresswoman stayed silent as she was repeatedly questioned, after previously telling Fox News Digital that the original filing — showing Omar’s reported assets reducing by as much as $29.9 million — was inaccurate and “incomplete” information.

ILHAN OMAR’S OFFICE SAYS SHE’S ‘NOT A MILLIONAIRE’ AFTER $30M FILING REVISED DOWN TO UNDER $100K: REPORT

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US Representative Ilhan Omar, Democrat of Minnesota, speaks during a press conference with family members of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh as members of Congress call for US investigations into Israel’s actions and reintroduce the Justice for Shireen Act, outside the US Capitol in Washington, DC, May 18, 2023. The Al Jazeera journalist, who was a dual US citizen, was killed on May 11, 2022. The Israeli army later admitted one of its soldiers likely shot the reporter. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

The controversy surrounding Omar’s finances began when a 2024 financial report estimated that Omar and her husband possessed between $6 million and $30 million in assets, all while the Minnesota fraud scandal within the Somali community was beginning to come to fruition.

A more recent 2025 financial disclosure report shows Omar’s revised value of shared assets between her and husband to sit at a maximum of $125,000 — a multi-million-dollar drop from the year prior. The lower estimate of their assets, $20,000, compared to the low and high debt estimates, $30,000 and $100,000, would imply the Minnesota Democrat could have a negative net worth.

Both her and her husband have separate debts, each ranging somewhere between $15,000 and $50,000 — from her own student loans and her husband’s credit card debt, according to the disclosures.

WATCH: OMAR SILENT WHEN CONFRONTED ON ALLEGED TIES TO MASSIVE MINNESOTA FRAUD SCANDAL

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RICHFIELD, MN – AUGUST 08: Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) (C) campaigns with her husband Tim Mynett (R) at the Richfield Farmers Market on August 8, 2020 in Richfield, Minnesota. Omar is hoping to retain her seat as the representative for Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District in next week’s primary election. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

The biggest change in the documents involved Omar’s husband, Tim Mynett. His reported ownership interests in both his winery and venture capital advisory firm, which were previously valued in the millions of dollars, are listed with no value now.

In Omar’s 2024 financial disclosure records, Mynett’s share in his winery was valued between $1 million and $5 million, and his share at the venture capital advisory firm was valued between $5 million and $25 million. Now, his equity interests are both listed at $0.

Omar’s office previously told Fox News Digital that Mynett has partners in both businesses and said the earlier disclosure mistakenly reflected the businesses’ total equity rather than his ownership interest. The office also said the original filing listed assets without accounting for liabilities.

VANCE REFERS TIM WALZ, MINNESOTA ATTORNEY GENERAL TO DOJ FOR CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION OVER STATE’S ALLEGED FRAUD

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House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., has publicly voiced his interest in the Ethics Committee opening an investigation into Omar’s personal finances after the 2025 financial reports came out showing the possibility of a $29 million drop in her net worth.

Vice President JD Vance also has previously said the U.S. Department of Justice will be opening a probe into her alleged fraud as part of the administration’s anti-fraud taskforce that he spearheads, though no formal investigations have been shared with the public at this time.

Omar has been reluctant to answer Fox News Digital’s questions about her financial fallout and potential probes to be opened against her.

The Minnesota lawmaker similarly dodged answering any of Fox News Digital’s questions just last month about the revised disclosures.

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“There’s also the possibility that it might rain on this sunny day,” Omar replied without responding directly to the content of the question.

Fox News Digital’s Robert Schmad contributed to this report.

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