Pennsylvania police have revealed that, besides would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks, there were at least two other suspicious individuals spotted at the July 13 Trump rally.

This revelation has sparked questions about the security measures in place at the event.

Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Col. Christopher Paris testified before the House Homeland Security Committee, detailing the presence of additional suspicious individuals identified before Crooks launched his attack on former President Trump.

Trump's Sovereign Wealth Fund: What Could It Mean For Your Money?

Paris explained that before the rally, he inquired with the Secret Service about the security of a building that Crooks later used to launch his attack. “We were told that Butler [Emergency Services Unit] ESU was responsible for that area, by several Secret Service agents on that walk-through,” he stated.

Legislators have been questioning law enforcement leaders on the security failures at the rally. Just days after her testimony, U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned.

During her testimony, she confirmed that Crooks had been spotted outside the secure perimeter multiple times before the shooting and was considered a suspicious person until moments before the gunfire began.

This Could Be the Most Important Video Gun Owners Watch All Year

“There was a text thread that was going—they took a photo of him at some point when he utilized the range finder,” Paris said. “The suspicion was heightened… I know from an interview that was immediately relayed in the command post to the Secret Service.”

Experts indicate that it is common to flag individuals as suspicious at such events. “’Suspicious person’? Not uncommon. Very low bar. ‘Genuine threat’? Much rarer, and Crooks progressed to the latter,” said Paul Mauro, a retired NYPD inspector.

Bill Gage, a retired Secret Service agent, emphasized the importance of thorough assessments at such events. “Every single event I worked, which is thousands, there were suspicious people and events that have to be investigated,” Gage noted, pointing out that definitions of suspicious behavior can vary between agencies.

Paris’ testimony has raised new questions about the handling of the situation. Gage questioned the information relayed to the command post and the “text thread” communication regarding Crooks’ initial sighting. “Crooks ‘ran off’ from the officer when confronted? That’s very odd behavior at an event,” he remarked.

During the rally, Crooks managed to get onto the roof of a nearby building and opened fire, killing Corey Comperatore, 50, and injuring David Dutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74. Former President Trump, who was struck in the ear, ducked for cover and was later seen with blood on the right side of his head.

FBI Director Christopher Wray testified that Crooks had been researching prior presidential assassinations and had become very focused on former President Trump and the rally.

Crooks had registered to attend the rally on the same day he searched Google for the distance from which Lee Harvey Oswald shot President Kennedy.

“Since the day of the attack, the FBI has been consistent and clear that the shooting was an attempted assassination of former President Trump,” an FBI spokesperson said. “This was a heinous attack and the FBI is devoting enormous resources to learn everything possible about the shooter and what led to his act of violence.”

Trump, speaking on Fox News’ “Jesse Watters Primetime,” expressed frustration with the Secret Service for allowing him to walk out on stage without warning about any suspicious individuals.

President Trump says the Secret Service DIDN’T warn him before the assassination attempt, even though the shooter was spotted well before he got onstage.

The first joint interview with President Trump and JD Vance airs Monday night only on Jesse Watters Primetime. pic.twitter.com/5s4iR95JwC

— Jesse Watters (@JesseBWatters) July 21, 2024