A MILITARY veteran has slammed “unqualified” Secret Service agents for their alleged blunders on Saturday that left former President Donald Trump only “three minutes” from death.
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Darrell Smith, who spent 22 years with the Air Force, blamed the Secret Service’s inclusion policies for the lapses in security that allowed Trump’s would-be assassin Thomas Crooks to fire on him.
Smith, now an aero defense and intelligence analyst who works with the Pentagon, was speaking to The U.S. Sun from the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where we are reporting from all week.
“I’ve actually ridden with the Secret Service when I was in uniform and now as a volunteer, supporting some of Trump’s movements around the country,” Smith said, as we spoke to him at a veteran candidate’s event just a couple of blocks from the perimeter of the RNC.
“Diversity, equity and inclusion (the DEI policy) is not what you need.
“You need people who are qualified and loyal to the president. You need to know who you’re working with in any operation.”
Trump was wounded in Saturday’s shooting at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, which also left one attendee dead and two critically injured.
The suspected gunman, 20-year-old Crooks, was killed by Secret Service agents after opening fire on the former president from a vantage point on a nearby roof.
Since Saturday’s shocking events, the Secret Service has been slammed by many and questions have been raised on how Crooks was able to get onto a rooftop just 130 yards away from the former president.
“I think what you saw with the guy who was able to sneak on top of a roof is possibly because you had unqualified people not doing surveillance of the area,” Smith said.
“I mean I’m a retired Air Force guy, I would have had drones in the area, surveilling the air, and you would have easily seen somebody on the rooftop, not just at ground level, and they obviously weren’t doing that.
Haunting pic of Trump shooting victim Corey Comperatore’s uniform inside fire station where his photos plaster walls
“You got about three minutes of a guy that said ‘I saw a guy with a rifle climb on the roof,’ and no one told him about it.
“I’ve been in several military operations and three minutes means life and death, and we’re just very lucky that Trump didn’t lose his life.”
Smith claimed that the shooting had sparked a surge of support for Trump, and said that since the attempted assassination, he had seen “lifelong Democrats” express their “sympathy and general support” for the Republican.
He also praised the general atmosphere inside the RNC.
“It’s a freaking lovefest in there, it’s a great event,” he said with a smile.
“It’s my first convention, but it’s the right time for me to be here.”
What we know so far:
The U.S. Sun also heard from Paul McNamara, another veteran from Tampa, Florida.
McNamara, who spent 24 years in the military before retiring a month ago, stressed the importance of the event as a way of maintaining the “brotherhood and sisterhood” of veterans.
He praised veteran JD Vance, selected on Monday as Trump’s VP pick, as a “great candidate,” and said he was the “America first” candidate to pull the country back from “the wrong road it’s been going down for a while.”
Security at the RNC has been on the minds of many attendees in the wake of Saturday’s shooting, and McNamara said the security overall “had been strong.”
He added: “The key to security is having a very tight plan, understanding what your vulnerabilities are, what your strengths are. What happened the other night is inexcusable, it should never have happened.
“Anybody with any tactical sense knows how that should have been covered,” he said, referring to Saturday.
Calling for “answers,” he went on: “You put people in charge to do a job and you expect them to do the job. If they’re not doing that, you need to get rid of them.”
And he added: “What you saw the other night is maybe they [the Secret Service] aren’t focused on the right things.”
McNamara, who has many years of tactical experience with military assaults and raids said: “There was a very strong requirement to cover all the buildings, in a rural area like that, there’s plenty of opportunity to cover everything.
“This is a much harder problem set in a city like this. There’s a water tower over 100 feet in the air.”
He added: “Somebody’s gotta answer,” for what happened in Butler, and said that the position where Crooks took his shot from was “the single easiest position” that should have been covered.
“It’s very disconcerting,” he said.
Monday’s event was organized by Bob “Shoebob” Carey, a retired US Naval Captain and Chairman of the National Defense Political Action Committee, a veterans organization dedicated to military and veterans civil and legal rights.
He organized the mixer as a way of getting more veterans into political office.
Speaking to The U.S. Sun at the crowded event, he said: “One of the things I love about getting veterans elected is that they’re one of the few groups within Congress who actually work across the other side of the aisle, politically.
“They have a history of working very closely, in life-or-death situations, with people they may not like, but you know what, you get past that, you figure out how to work with them, and you make it work.”
Speaking in support of Vance, he joked: “It’s awesome, he can be his own security detail,” before praising the “youth he brings to the ticket.”
He added: “Vance knows what it’s like for the junior enlisted guy or gal who’s living day-to-day, month-to-month, on little pay, and not having a great life, and good on him.
Donald Trump Rally Shooting Timeline
Donald Trump was shot at his Pennsylvania rally on July 13.
1pm: Doors open at the Butler Farm Show grounds where Trump was expected to speak at 5pm.
4:11pm: Sean Parnell gave the opening speech.
4:35pm: David McCormick rallied the crowd.
5:30pm: Crowds were still waiting for Trump.
6:03pm: Trump takes the stage.
6:11pm: Gunshots were fired as Trump delivered remarks.
6:12pm: Trump was ushered off stage by Secret Service agents.
6:42pm: Secret Service confirmed Trump is safe.
7:24pm: The shooter and one rally attendee are confirmed dead by law enforcement officials.
8:42pm: Trump confirms he was shot in the ear, sharing a statement on Truth Social.
8:49pm: The Secret Service confirms the shooter and a rally attendee are dead. Two others remain critically injured.
REFUSAL TO STEP DOWN
Despite growing calls for her resignation in the wake of Saturday’s shooting, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle told ABC News on Monday that she has no plans to step aside.
Cheatle, who has been accused of allowing “woke” policies to hamper hiring of the best agenst, agreed that the “buck stops with her” but said they did not yet have all the details on the shooting.
“It was obviously a situation that, as a Secret Service agent, no one ever wants to occur in their career,” Cheatle said.
“Seeking that person out, finding them, identifying them, and eventually neutralizing them took place in a very short period of time, and it makes it very difficult.
“The shooter was actually identified as a potential person of suspicion,” she added.
“Unfortunately, with the rapid succession of how things unfolded, by the time that individual was eventually located, they were on the rooftop and were able to fire off at the former president.”
It comes as it emerges shooter Crooks was spotted but cops twice 26 minutes before he wounded Trump and killed a supporter.
Beaver County Emergency Services Unit reportedly spotted Crooks on the roof and took pictures of him at 5.45pm.
The building he climbed onto was being used as a “watch post” for snipers from local police to watch for any threats.
Cops were inside the building but not on the roof, allowing Crooks to bear crawl up unchallenged and lie in waiting.
Chilling video has shown Trump supporters calling for help as they noticed the shooter on the roof.
Yet Crooks was only taken out by Secret Service when he had already fired rounds at Trump, missing the former president by an inch and only grazing his ear.
Who was Thomas Matthew Crooks?
Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was identified as the would-be assassin who tried to kill Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, during a campaign rally in Butler Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024.
Who is Thomas Matthew Crooks?
Thomas Matthew Crooks left few clues about his identity, and investigators said he did not have a social media presence.
What is known is Crooks was from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, a small suburb about 30 minutes south of Pittsburgh.
He lived with his parents, Mary Elizabeth Crooks and Matthew Brian Crooks.
The Crooks have been licensed professional counselors since 2002, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State Licensing System Verification service.
Thomas Matthew Crooks attended and graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022.
In May 2024, Crooks graduated from the Community College of Allegheny County with an associate degree in engineering science, the school revealed.
Crooks was previously employed as a dietary aide at Bethel Park Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.
He was a registered Republican but made a small $15 donation to a progressive political group in January 2021.
Crooks did not have a criminal history in Pennsylvania.
How did Thomas Crooks obtain the rifle used in the shooting?
Federal investigators believe the AR-15-style rifle Thomas Crooks used in the shooting on July 13 was legally purchased and registered to his father.
Matthew Brian Crooks purchased the weapon at least six months before the Trump rally shooting, according to AP News.
It’s unknown how the younger Crooks took possession of the firearm.
The Crooks family is cooperating with federal investigators.
Thomas Crooks also had a membership at the local shooting club, the Clairton Sportsmen’s Club, for at least a year, according to BBC.
What were Thomas Matthew Crooks’ final moments?
On July 12, federal investigators learned Thomas Crooks visited the Clairton Sportsmen’s Club.
On July 13, the day of the Trump rally in Butler, Crooks went to a Home Depot and purchased a five-foot ladder that investigators believe he used to scale a rooftop about 430 feet outside the Secret Service’s perimeter.
That same day, investigators said Crooks purchased 50 rounds of ammunition at a gun store and drove his Hyundai Sonata an hour north to Butler.
Crooks fired at least eight shots at Donald Trump and rally-goers at 6:11 pm, less than 10 minutes after the presidential candidate took the stage.
A Secret Service counter-sniper positioned near the stage where Trump was delivering his remarks returned fire within seconds, killing Crooks.
What was his motive behind the shooting?
The FBI is still working on determining a motive behind the shooting.
The federal agency is viewing the act as domestic terrorism.
Crooks is believed to have acted alone.
Federal officials have been able to gain access to Crooks’ cell phone, but it has yielded no clues about a motive, according to the New York Post.
Crooks’ cell phone and laptop have been sent to the FBI’s lab in Quantico, Virginia, for further analysis.
In the days before the shooting, Crooks had also visited a shooting range he was a member of to practice and bought a ladder to scale the roof, law enforcement said.
Just hours before the shooting, he also visited a gun shop where he bought 50 rounds of ammunition before driving an hour north to the rally.
Cops also found an improvised explosive device in his car.
Despite searching through his phone and laptops, cops are still none the wiser on the motove behind the shooting.
A school counselor spoke to The U.S. Sun refuting claims he was bullied in school.
While Crooks was a registered Republican he had not yet voted in a presidential election and he had donated to a left-wing organization after Biden won in 2020.
TRUMP STANDS TALL
The former president wore a bandage over his ear as he made his first public appearance since the assassination attempt at the RNC on Monday night.
Trump appeared emotional as he thanked the crowds, who cheered “fight, fight, fight” as he entered the room.
It was also his first public appearance since being named the Republican nominee just hours earlier.
He sat with his new Vice Presidential pick JD Vance.
Donald Trump’s full statement
Donald Trump announced Senator JD Vance as his running mate on July 16. His statement read,
“After lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others, I have decided that the person best suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States is Senator J.D. Vance of the Great State of Ohio.”
“J.D. honorably served our Country in the Marine Corps, graduated from Ohio State University in two years, Summa Cum Laude, and is a Yale Law School Graduate, where he was Editor of The Yale Law Journal, and President of the Yale Law Veterans Association, J.D.’s book, ‘Hillbilly Elegy,’ became a Major Best Seller and Movie, as it championed the hardworking men and women of our Country.
“J.D. has had a very successful business career in Technology and Finance, and now, during the Campaign, will be strongly focused on the people he fought so brilliantly for, the American Workers and Farmers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and far beyond.”
