Trump rally law enforcement 'lost sight' of gunman Crooks before shooting: bodycam
Body cam video shows officers and Secret Service discuss the sniper who found Thomas Matthew Crooks before the Butler, Pennsylvania, Trump rally shooting.
Body camera footage recorded during the aftermath of the assassination attempt on former President Trump showed law enforcement discussing how a sniper "lost sight" of gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks.
Sen. Chuck Grassely, R-Iowa, posted the three-minute video on social media Tuesday. The footage shows authorities on the roof of a building in Butler, Pennsylvania, where Crooks was shot dead by snipers.
"Beaver County sniper seen and sent the pictures out. This is him," one law enforcement officer tells another man, who appears to be a Secret Service agent, on the roof.
"Rifle's right there, obviously," another law enforcement officer says as he points at the weapon.
ROOFTOP BODYCAM VIDEO SHOWS CONFUSION AMONG OFFICIALS, RIFLE SHOOTER USED IN DEADLY ATTEMPT ON TRUMP
The first law enforcement officer, whose body camera was recording, said the sniper who spotted Crooks was still in a building nearby, showing where the sniper was located.
"That’s the sniper who sent the original pictures and seen him come from the bike and then set the bag back down and then lost sight of him," the officer said. "He’s the one who sent the pictures out. I don’t know if you got the same ones I did…."
"I think I did, yeah," the man who appears to be a Secret Service agent replied. "He’s got his glasses on…."
The footage was obtained from the Beaver County Emergency Services Unit, and Grassley posted it on X. Fox News Digital has blurred the image of the body.
The man who appears to be a Secret Service agent asked, "And we have somebody detained, correct?"
"That I don't know," the officer replied.
Another officer said, "There were two people detained on this side."
"Our guy who was just up here told me that there's a guy detained who is the owner of the bike. And I said, ‘no, no, that’s the owner of the bike," the agent said, appearing to point to Crooks' body.
"We've been up here so we wouldn't know that information," an officer said.
"We just hauled a-- and got over here. We just hopped up on the roof," another person can be heard saying.
The agent later said the people who were detained had been filming, adding, "Maybe they were involved, maybe they weren't."
"The guys that saw them filming go, ‘They were filming us, and then filming the guy up on the roof, and then filming us, and then when the shots started firing, they ran away.' And I go, ‘Isn’t that what everybody was doing?'" the agent said. "I have no problem detaining them. Detain those guys. Find out who they know. Who they are. Whatever. Again, I'm trying to get clear information to relay back to D.C."
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned Tuesday amid criticism over the security lapses that allowed Crooks to get on a rooftop and get a clear shot of Trump as he was speaking to supporters.
Fox News' Louis Casiano contributed to this report.