Trump Assassination Attempt Made Possible By Numerous Security Failures UPDATED

Written by Chriss W. Street

Trump near-assassination at an outdoor rally in rural Western Pennsylvania was made possible by numerous basic security failures.   Spectators tried to warn police that a man with anAR-15 was climbing the side of a building to an unoccupied roof at a 90 degree angle to the stage with an elevated unobstructed view 143 yards from the stage.

U.S. military basic training awards three levels of rifle qualification for reliably hitting a targets 95% of the time at distances of about 150 yards for marksman; 250 yards for sharpshooter; and 350 yards for expert.  The 20-year-old shooter at the Butler, Pennsylvania rally fired about 7 shots and according to a post by former President on his Truth Social site, one “pierced the upper part of my right ear.”

Most candidates stay very anchored to their speaking position on stage due to maximized press and camera views.  Almost all candidates for high office give speeches with two frontal teleprompters at 45 degree angles, which would provide some protection and deflection of a round being fired from a frontal or 45 degree angle.

Both buildings behind the Butler stage that offered an elevated position for shooting down were each covered by what appeared to be two-man Secret Service local SWAT police teams.  There appeared to be at least 20 Secret Service officers working in the crowd, including a 16-man tactical squad in full combat gear;unknown number of plain clothes FBI agents; and a number of Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives officers working the site.  Yet, a direct view elevated rooftop to the right of Trump’s podium at a relatively short distance was unmannedby any security personnel.

Retired ATF officer Jim Cavanaugh told Sky News: “Having been on Secret Service details, it's amazing to me that somebody was on an elevated position that they didn't know about.”  Cavanagh added: “Whenever I've been with them, every single high ground is taken by them or the local SWAT police. There's nobody allowed walking on rooftops. They command the high ground.”

The shooter’s AR-15 in the hands of a person with some practice should have reliably hit targets at up to 600 feet at level ground.  The probability is extremely high that the Trump shooter would have consistently hit his target with elevated and unobstructed distance at a range according to Google Earth analysis of just 443 feet.  

Former President Trump’s life appears to have been spared,because he constantly moved and engaged with the crowd.  Trump by turning his head to the right just before the shots were fired, reduced his head profile target width by about 25%.  

Thomas Matthew Crooks age 20 who was killed by counter-sniper fire, lived about an hour drive away from the Butler rally site.  He is identified as the only assassination in the attempt against Donald Trump, but there are a number of comments that police may have been distracted by several other security incidents just before the shots were fired.

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The Federalist blog reported that the Trump campaign has been making requests for more security agents at Trump rallies, but DHS “wasn’t responsive to those requests.”

CNN produced a tape of a Joe Biden donor call last week where Biden stated: “We’re done talking about the debate. It’s time to put Trump in the bullseye.”  In addition, Biden emphasized that Trump must be ‘stopped’ at all costs.”

GOP South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that despite Trump’s injuries, he still planned to play golf with Trump on Sunday and meet afterwards.

The Mountaintop Times will continuously update this reportingas the after-action investigation proceeds.