The inspector general of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has opened an investigation into the US Secret Service’s planning of former President Donald Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday, during which an assassination attempt was made on Trump, Fox News reports.
Joseph V. Cuffari, who was appointed as the inspector general in 2019, opened the investigation.
The investigation was recently listed on the Office of Inspector General’s website page that lists ongoing projects.
The Secret Service has been criticized for failing to adequately secure the site of the rally, which allowed the gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, to reach the roof and spend multiple minutes there before he attempted to assassinate Trump.
The objective of the investigation, according to the site, is to “evaluate the United States Secret Service’s process for securing former President Trump’s July 13, 2024 campaign event.”
An eyewitness to the attempted assassination told the BBC after the incident that he had witnessed “a guy crawling, bear-crawling, up the roof of the building beside us, 50 feet away from us. So we're standing there, we're pointing at the guy crawling up the roof."
They could clearly see the rifle the gunman carried. "The police are down there, running around on the ground. We're like, 'Hey man, there's a guy on the roof with a rifle.' And the police are like, 'huh, what?' Like they didn't know what was going on. We're like, 'Hey, right here on the roof, we can see him from right here! We see him! He's crawling!"
A video posted to X showed onlookers noticing the gunman and attempting to alert police to the danger for a significant period of time before he opened fire.