Local SWAT team members assigned to protect former President Donald Trump at his rally on July 13 have disclosed that they did not coordinate with the Secret Service before an attempted assassination on the former president took place.
The assassination attempt happened on July 13 when an assailant fired at Trump while he was speaking to his supporters.
In an interview with ABC News’ senior investigative correspondent Aaron Katersky, the officers explained how a lack of communication and planning shortcomings resulted in a significant delay in recognizing and thwarting the danger.
“They told us they had no communication with the Secret Service until after the gunfire started. This SWAT team saw the shooter. They recognized him as suspicious, even took pictures of him,” Katersky reported.
“None of the concerns, though, had a chance of reaching decision-makers before Trump took the stage because of what these men and women described as failures of planning and communication,” he added.
Jason Woods, the lead sharpshooter of the SWAT team in Beaver County, expressed his frustration.
“We were supposed to get a face-to-face briefing with the Secret Service snipers whenever they arrived, and that never happened,” Woods said.
“So I think that that was probably a pivotal point where I started thinking things were wrong because that never happened and we had no communication with the Secret Service,” he added.
Aaron Katersky: You had no communication with the Secret Service at all on that Saturday?
Jason Woods: Not until after the shooting.
Aaron Katersky: And by then
Jason Woods: It was too late.
The disastrous outcome of this failure led to the tragic death of one person, Corey Comperatore, who was attending the rally, and left two others in critical condition.
House Speaker Mike Johnson expressed his concerns on X regarding this massive security failure, stating, “Another alarming security failure. A local SWAT officer in PA told ABC his team had no contact with Secret Service at the rally until after the assassination attempt on President Trump. Our House Task Force will find the answers the American people deserve.”
WATCH:
After facing increasing scrutiny following her appearance before Congress, Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle resigned a week later. Her vague answers during the hearings incited anger among legislators and the public.
Cheatle’s ability to fulfill her main duty of protecting the President was doubted as she admitted full accountability for both the assassination attempt and Comperatore’s demise.
Shortly after Cheatle’s resignation, Trump released a statement on Truth Social, asserting, “The Biden/Harris Administration failed to adequately safeguard me, leading me to be a casualty in defense of Democracy.”
“IT WAS MY GREAT HONOR TO DO SO!” added Trump.
