Text messages and radio reports show confusing communication surrounding the tracking of Trump’s potential assassin

CNN

By Holmes Lybrand, Hannah Rabinowitz and Scott Glover, CNN

(CNN) — Text messages and detailed radio transmissions released Monday show that law enforcement officers lost track of Donald Trump’s potential assassin, Thomas Matthew Crooks, illustrating the confusing communications surrounding his search during the July 13 meeting.

According to documents released by Sen. Chuck Grassley’s office, police officers knew of the shooter’s presence at the rally and warned them more than 90 minutes before he climbed onto a roof and fired eight bullets into Trump.

At 5:14 p.m., an officer took photos of Crooks sitting outside. Twenty minutes later, he sent the images to a group chat, the text messages show.

“Child learning around the building we’re in,” one text reads. “I saw him looking at the stage with a rangefinder. FYI. If you want to warn SS snipers, they have to watch out. I lost sight of him.”

Messages show that 10 minutes later, an officer sends the footage to a second group chat, telling other members to forward it: “if you want to send this to whoever is in command.” Six minutes later, at 5:51 p.m., someone responds: “Sent.”

One of the members of the same group chat also said he could not remember where Crooks had been 15 minutes before the shooting.

“They are asking for direction of travel,” one person wrote at 5:59 p.m., referring to the command center.

Someone responded a minute later: “I don’t know. He was standing against the building. If I had to guess, toward the back. Away from the event.”

Security plans for Trump rally include contingency plans for shooting

Grassley also released the Beaver County ESU’s after-action report on the shooting and the Butler Emergency Services Unit’s plan detailing the responsibilities of federal and local law enforcement during the rally. It is unclear what the full extent of the security planning was that day, and these documents provide only a glimpse into how local law enforcement viewed their role that day.

The redacted entries show the communication as the information was passed through the chain.

In preparation for the demonstration, police anticipated a single shooter situation and were vigilant about drone activity in the area. Both events took place under their watch.

According to the FBI, Crooks was able to fly a drone over the protest area two hours before Trump took the stage, slipping past police stationed in the area, climbing onto a roof and nearly killing Trump.

Grassley, a Republican from Iowa, also announced the Butler Emergency Services Unit’s plan.

“The Secret Service Counter Assault Team will handle the evacuation,” the Trump shooting contingency plan document reads. It later adds that in the event of a single active attack, “the Butler County ESU (Quick Reaction Force) Team will respond and handle the incident.”

“The threat will be responded to promptly and directly to neutralize it,” the document said of an attack on Trump.

The documents also confirm what authorities have said: that local police were present in the area where Crooks opened fire.

Under the plan, the ESU sniper team would be given a Butler County radio and a Butler Police frequency to dial into. Questions remain about how local law enforcement communicated with the Secret Service that day, and the lack of a clear line of communication may have contributed to agents losing track of Crooks before the shooting.

The document also lists the names of all the police officers who were protected that day, with their names blacked out. It also lists the two Secret Service snipers and their call signs, Hercules 1 and 2.

The Secret Service has not yet released an operational plan for the demonstration.

This story has been updated with additional details.

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