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Update (1420ET): Former Navy Seal and Blackwater founder Erik Prince gave a detailed assessment of yesterday’s Secret Service debacle in the wake of a failed assassination attempt on former President Trump.

“Hopefully after the tragedy yesterday in Butler PA we can all recognize that unaccountable bloated bureaucracies continue to fail us as Americans,” Prince posted to X.

Continued (emphasis ours):

Donald J Trump is alive today solely due to a bad wind estimate by an evil would be assasin [sic].

As the graphics show the full value wind of just 5mph was enough to displace the unconfirmed but likely light 55 grain bullet two inches from DJT’s intended forehead to his ear.

DJT was not saved by USSS brilliance. The fact that USSS allowed a rifle armed shooter within 150yds to a preplanned event is either malice or massive incompetence. Clearly there was adequate uncontrolled dead space for a shooter to move into position and take multiple aimed shots. Watching the newsreel one can hear how proximate the shooter is by the very short time lapse between the crack of arriving bullet (supersonic) to the boom of muzzle blast (sonic).  

The law enforcement sniper (unclear if USSS) in newsreels was clearly overwhelmed as his face came off his rifle instead of doing his job to kill the shooter. Clearly they were watching the shooter but apparently have a no “first shot” policy.  The only positive action was an apparent 488yd shot by one USSS sniper which despatched the assasin but after the assassin launched at least 5 rounds, wounding DJT and killing and severely others in the crowd.

The sniper was already watching the shooter. Why didn’t he shoot first! 🤔 pic.twitter.com/Ts72wqdG4t

— GentlemanJack (@xGentleManJack) July 14, 2024

In my old business of providing Diplomatic Security in two active war zones we were expected to execute the basics or we would be fired. Clearly USSS failed at the basics of a secure perimeter and once shots were fired their extraction was clumsy and left DJT highly exposed to follow on attacks. It looked like they had never drilled together because those responses should be effectively autonomic. Will there be accountability?  That’s not the Washington way.

Unserious and unworthy people in positions of authority got us to this near disaster. Merit and execution must be the only deciding factors in hiring and leadership, not the social engineering priority of the day.  Sadly nothing in Washington reflects that any longer. DJT is right to question the competence of those protecting him because yesterday they failed in almost every way. Nature abhors a vacuum and there are always other options.

Most importantly, as Americans let’s come together and run a proper valid election so we can get back to what matters a merit based society that judges on character and skill. Nothing else.

(Images from a SEAL sniper instructor at Red Sky LLC)

*  *  *

Indeed…

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When looking at the circumstances in favor of Thomas Matthew Crooks, the identified alleged suspect in the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Butler, PA, it’s hard to see how the guy failed.  Almost every Secret Service security protocol seems to have been ignored, allowing Crooks easy access to a perfect shooting position and plenty of time to acquire a bead on Trump’s podium.

The rooftop used by Crooks was a mere 140 yards away from the event with a clear line of sight to the right of Trump.  Those familiar with precision shooting know that any shot within 300 yards is considered easy for a moderately trained rifleman.  With the right caliber an expert can hit a torso sized target consistently at 1000 yards or more.  At 140 yards any amateur should be able to hit a pie plate-sized target with little difficulty, even without a magnified optic. 

The Secret Service is supposed to secure all obvious “sniper perches” well before the arrival of a protectee – Meaning, nearby rooftops and buildings are supposed to have a security presence in place along with drone surveillance.  In the case of Butler, PA, this was apparently not done.  SS snipers were only present on the building right behind the venue stage.

The lack of a security presence at the building across the field made it possible for the would-be assassin to brazenly jaunt to the location and climb to the rooftop with his rifle in broad daylight.  The SS traditionally uses concentric “circles of security” going out hundreds if not thousands of yards when preparing a location for protection.  Watch the video below for insight on how meticulous the Secret Service is supposed to be when preparing an area to prevent assassination attempts.

The idea of Crooks being able to get that close with an elevated position on the stage is unthinkable.  Another fail was the lack of sight obstructions put in place near the stage.  The Secret Service is supposed to erect barriers to block the line of sight from potential shooting locations.  Again, this was not done. 

Finally, there’s the dismal lack of response time.  Witnesses outside the event report that they saw Thomas Crooks climbing to the building rooftop with his rifle at least three minutes before he started shooting.  They claim they tried to warn police and Secret Service agents to no avail.  

“How could you have somebody on the rooftop?” said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise – a victim of political violence, after the shooting. “There are reports that people watched him climb up the roof and even alerted authorities, and we’re going to be looking into that.“

Meanwhile, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer on Saturday night demanded immediate answers from the Secret Service as to how it failed to prevent the assassination attempt.

“I have already contacted the Secret Service for a briefing and am also calling on Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to appear for a hearing,” Comer said on X. “The Oversight Committee will send a formal invitation soon. There are many questions and Americans demand answers.”

🚨BREAKING🚨@RepJamesComer has invited U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to testify at a hearing on Monday, July 22.

Americans demand answers about the assassination attempt of President Trump. pic.twitter.com/zKia2oIxCf

— Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) July 14, 2024

As Just the News notes, warning signs about the Secret Service were there months before the Trump assassination attempt.

Back in May, Congress requested a briefing with the Secret Service, after several incidents allegedly raised internal concerns over the quality of its trainings.

A petition within the Secret Service has reportedly been circulating because of the incidents and called for a congressional investigation into the agency, according to Comer.

One incident saw a Secret Service agent assigned to Vice President Kamala Harris allegedly attack her superior and other agents. The unnamed agent also exhibited other “concerning” behavior, according to her colleagues.

Luckily for Trump, Crooks seems to have had terrible aim and he was not smart enough to shoot from a covered position which would have offered him protection and allowed him even more time.  Unfortunately, the shooter’s stray bullets hit at least three bystanders in the crowd, leaving one dead and two in critical condition.  The security failure in this situation is so complete that former Secret Service agents are admitting it publicly and calling for an investigation into how this could have happened.

The motive for Thomas Crooks’ actions is not yet known.  Reports claim the 20-year-old Bethel Park resident was registered to vote as a Republican, yet, he also donated money to Democrat run organizations in 2021, including ActBlue and the Progressive Turnout Project.  

As we warned only two weeks ago, Democrat rhetoric has been increasingly violent after the Supreme Court decision on Trump’s prosecution immunity.  Many Democrat representatives and activists openly suggested Trump could (or should) be assassinated in response to the ruling.  The media’s fear mongering over the “imminent destruction of Democracy” should Trump prevail might not be directly related to the shooting attempt, but it certainly doesn’t help.  In the wake of the failed assassination many have still taken to social media to argue that the shooting was “staged”, while others complained that the shooter missed his target.             

This DEMON is mad that the shooter missed President Trump🤯😳

THIS IS THE DARKNESS WE ARE FIGHTING!!! pic.twitter.com/tGHCIjudyU

— Graham Allen (@GrahamAllen_1) July 14, 2024

When they tell you who are they, believe them. pic.twitter.com/0CSxvxUIWG

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) July 14, 2024

This leftist is really upset and triggered because the sh**ter missed Trump.

Believe them when they tell you who they are. pic.twitter.com/61bpddFCDX

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) July 14, 2024

Regardless of one’s position on Trump, this kind of political vitriol should be considered poisonous.  It can only lead to more violence in the future. Again, the shooter was given every opportunity; Democrats almost got what they have long wanted.