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Rep. Eli Crane inspects roof from where Trump shooter opened fire, claims ‘many security measures were dropped’: Watch
Rep. Eli Crane, who is a former Navy SEAL sniper, questioned how suspect Thomas Matthew Crooks managed to slip past the Secret Service.
Rep. Eli Crane has shared a video where he was seen on the roof from where Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire at Donald Trump’s Pennsylvania rally. The Republican Congressman from Arizona, who is a former Navy SEAL sniper, questioned how the suspect managed to slip past the Secret Service.
Crane showed the second-floor window where Secret Service agents were likely keeping watch. The video suggests that the second floor window the agents are believed to have had access to clearly overlooks the roof Crooks shot from. He said the roof was not “that steep at all,” contradicting what Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle had cited.
“I’m on the roof of the building in Butler, PA where shots were fired in an attempt to assassinate President Trump,” Crane captioned the video. “As a former Navy SEAL sniper, it was clear to me that many security measures were dropped making Pres. Trump extremely vulnerable. Many questions still remain.”
‘I’ve heard a very slightly sloped roof can be incredibly dangerous’
Cheatle, amid calls to resign, had previously blamed a “sloped roof” for not putting a sniper team on the building. She said the roof was too slanted and hence dangerous to be climbed. Crooks was killed by Secret Service snipers after he opened fire, wounding Trump and others, and killing one person at the rally.
“That building in particular has a sloped roof at its highest point. And so, you know, there’s a safety factor that would be considered there that we wouldn’t want to put somebody up on a sloped roof,” Cheatle told ABC News.
In a post seemingly mocking Cheatle’s remarks, Donald Trump Jr. shared Crane’s video with the caption, “Be careful @RepEliCrane, I’ve heard a very slightly sloped roof can be incredibly dangerous. But you make a great point, how on earth was that not covered??? Unless…”
