A federal watchdog has blamed the U. S. Secret Service for missing 102 local police radio transmissions about the gunman who tried to assassinate President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, exposing a communications breakdown that left his protective detail unaware of escalating warnings before shots were fired.The Department of Homeland Security inspector general’s report said the agency failed to set up a joint communications room with local law enforcement for the July 13, 2024 event. Local officers were tracking a suspicious man later identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, but the Secret Service received only five phone calls and three text messages about him before the shooting.
The report found that the missed transmissions included warnings connected to an intensifying search for Crooks around the American Glass Research complex, a building cluster near the Butler Farm Show grounds. Crooks later climbed onto a rooftop with a clear line of sight to the stage and opened fire while Trump was speaking. Trump was wounded when a bullet grazed his ear. Rally attendee Corey Comperatore was killed, and others were injured before Crooks was shot dead by law enforcement.
“Secret Service members did not alert President Trump’s protective detail about concerns of a suspicious person,” the report said, identifying the communications failure as one of several missed opportunities to prevent or disrupt the attack. Members of the protective detail told investigators they would have delayed Trump’s remarks or removed him from the stage had they known of the search and the threat developing near the rooftop.
The findings add new detail to a security failure that has become one of the most scrutinised episodes in modern presidential protection. The inspector general’s review faulted the agency not only for the missing radio traffic but also for weak advance planning, inadequate counter-drone readiness, incomplete intelligence sharing and failure to address exposed sight lines near the venue.
Investigators said Crooks flew a drone over the rally site for nearly nine minutes earlier that day without detection. The Secret Service counter-drone system was not working, and the report said it was staffed by a single under-trained operator who had not tested the equipment before the event. The malfunction remained unresolved while Crooks used the drone to view the area, including the stage and nearby rooftop positions.
The review also found that the agency had identified the American Glass Research complex as a possible line-of-sight concern but did not ensure that the vulnerability was blocked or secured. Available resources, including vehicles and equipment that could have obstructed the view from the rooftop, were not used effectively. The gap left Crooks with an elevated firing position outside the secure perimeter.
The Secret Service accepted the inspector general’s recommendations, which included stronger procedures for information sharing, joint communications arrangements with local agencies, improved planning for line-of-sight threats and better readiness for counter-drone operations. A spokesperson said many of the recommendations had already been identified and implemented as part of wider reform efforts.
The report follows earlier congressional and government reviews that criticised the agency’s planning for the Butler rally. Those reviews found that roles among advance staff were unclear, threat information had not been shared adequately across the chain of command, and local law enforcement partners did not have a sufficiently integrated communications structure with federal protective teams.
The attack prompted the resignation of Kimberly Cheatle as Secret Service director and triggered bipartisan demands for accountability. Lawmakers said the Butler shooting showed that the agency had become too reliant on informal coordination, outdated communications practices and assumptions about which agency would secure vulnerable areas outside the formal perimeter.
The Butler case has also intensified debate over how the Secret Service protects candidates and presidents at outdoor rallies, where rooftops, drones and split command structures create risks that are harder to manage than controlled indoor venues. The agency has since moved to revise protective planning, consolidate operations documents, expand counter-drone capabilities and strengthen coordination with state and local partners.
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