Grassley says Secret Service vowed to “take care” of building where Trump assassin fired at PA rally

Local law enforcement told Senate investigators that the Secret Service said it would handle security at the buildings near Donald Trump’s Pennsylvania rally site flagged repeatedly for security risks, according to a new letter Wednesday from Iowa GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley to the acting Secret Service director.

Would-be Trump assassin Thomas Crooks later used those very buildings to fire on Trump and his rally crowd, killing one and injuring three others, including the former president and GOP nominee. 

“Butler County law enforcement officials stated that at separate times during the walkthrough, when they reiterated their concerns to the agents and counter sniper about securing the AGR complex buildings, the agents responded: ‘we will take care of it,’” Grassley’s letter reads. “Are these representations to my staff accurate and what actions were taken to secure the area?”

Grassley is investigating the assassination attempts against Trump and has repeatedly asked for documents from the Secret Service. So far, the agency has denied requests to provide documents, according to the letter. 

You can read Grassley’s letter below: 

At a July 30 hearing, Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe told Congress that he understood “what was communicated is that the locals had a plan and that they had been there before,” referring to then grouping of buildings. 

Yet, Grassley says local officials contradicted this testimony. 

“However, Butler County law enforcement officials interviewed by my staff have said that on July 11, 2024, during a walkthrough in preparation for the July 13 rally, they raised concerns to the Secret Service several times about securing the AGR complex buildings,” Grassley wrote. 

Those local officials told Grassley they specifically flagged the buildings to two Secret Service agents and a Secret Service counter sniper, according to the letter. It was after this that the agents  promised to “take care” of the building complex. 

The Secret Service came under scrutiny after the July assassination attempt against Trump for lax security and a failure to intercept and stop Crooks despite multiple warnings of suspicious behavior in the lead up to the attack.