The district attorney of Butler County, Pennsylvania, Richard Goldinger, has refuted claims that local snipers were responsible for monitoring the rooftop where a gunman attempted to assassinate former President Trump. This statement comes in response to acting U.S. Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe's testimony at a Senate hearing regarding the shooting incident in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Goldinger clarified that the local snipers, who were present at the July 13 rally, were assigned to a window with a different vantage point than the one highlighted by Rowe during his testimony. He explained that the snipers from the Butler and Beaver ESU teams were positioned on the second floor of a building adjacent to where the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was located. Their assigned windows did not provide a view of the roof of the AGR building where Crooks carried out the attack.
According to Goldinger, monitoring the rooftop was not part of the local snipers' assignment, and they were not positioned to overlook that specific area. He emphasized that their focus was on the windows towards the end of the building, which did not offer visibility of the shooter on the roof.
Rowe had previously suggested that local law enforcement should have had a better vantage point of Crooks on the roof, based on the exhibits presented during his testimony. He expressed confusion over the lack of coverage on the roofline, considering the positioning of the snipers.
In response to Goldinger's statements, a spokesperson for the Secret Service reiterated that the agency had coordinated with the Butler County Emergency Services Unit, which was designated as the tactical lead for the event site. The spokesperson pointed back to Rowe's testimony and the collaboration between the Secret Service and the local law enforcement teams.
The conflicting accounts regarding the monitoring of the rooftop during the assassination attempt have raised questions about the coordination and responsibilities of the different security teams present at the event. The investigation into the incident continues as officials work to determine the sequence of events and the factors that may have contributed to the security lapse.
