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In the wake of the shocking assassination attempt on Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024, the nation was left questioning the effectiveness of the U.S. Secret Service’s security measures.
The assailant, 20-year-old Thomas Crooks, managed to position himself on a rooftop approximately 400 feet from the stage where Trump was delivering a speech, providing him with an unobstructed view.
Armed with an AR-15-style rifle outfitted with an advanced sight, Crooks discharged eight shots, one of which struck President Trump in the right ear. The attack also critically wounded two attendees and resulted in one fatality. Moments after the attack, Crooks was neutralized by snipers from the Secret Service.
Merely two months later, President Trump faced yet another assassination attempt.
On September 15, 2024, 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh attempted to target the president by hiding along the perimeter fence at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, with plans to shoot him during a round of golf.
Routh’s plot was only foiled when a Secret Service agent spotted the muzzle of a long rifle poking out of the bushes.
Routh was taken into custody, convicted for the attempted assassination of a presidential candidate and sentenced to life in prison.
Two seemingly close calls, just weeks before a presidential election, raised serious alarm among security experts and ordinary Americans. Protection of the president seemed shockingly inadequate.
In Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024, there was an attempted assassination on Trump’s life
On September 15, 2024, Ryan Wesley Routh (pictured) hid along the fence line of Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, planning to shoot the president as he played
On Saturday evening, President Trump was in attendance at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner when a gunman opened fireÂ
Now, after 31-year-old California teacher Cole Allen stormed Saturday night’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington, DC, reportedly armed with knives, a handgun and a shotgun, wounding one Secret Service agent before he was stopped, the same questions swirl.
On Sunday morning, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said investigators believe that Allen was targeting members of the Trump administration.
Was this another example of botched security?
Multiple Daily Mail journalists, who attended the dinner and stayed at the Washington Hilton hotel, where the event was held, noted many seemingly alarming safety gaps in the days and hours leading up to incident.
Guests checking into the hotel as early as Thursday did not have their bags or luggage inspected.
That raises the possibility that an individual may have had the opportunity to bring weapons into the hotel, thus skirting a security perimeter that was only established around the Washington Hilton at 2pm on Saturday.
Interim Washington Metropolitan Police Chief Jeffery Carroll said Saturday evening that investigators believe the shooter was registered as a guest at the Washington Hilton, allowing him to potentially take advantage of this apparent security failure.
On Sunday morning, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said investigators believe the Allen was targeting members of the Trump administration (Pictured: Allen in police custody)
Surveillance footage captured the moment Allen stormed past security on Saturday night
Several gunshots rang out as panicked attendees immediately ducked under their tables to protect themselves
And, according to witness Helen Mabus, an event volunteer from Pennsylvania, Allen appeared to assemble his weapon in a ‘makeshift room’ near the event space, suggesting that he had perhaps stashed the weapons beforehand.
‘He was in that room […] he grabbed it out of a bag or something,’ said Mabus. She claimed he carried a weapon that ‘was long’ and ‘didn’t look like a typical gun… He put it together and […] ran towards the stairs to go down to the ballroom.’
On the day of the dinner, after 2pm, anyone seeking access to nearby streets and the venue itself were told to present a plastic room key (indicating that they were guests) or a physical paper ticket to the dinner. However, no one was required to match their keys or ticket with photo identification or hotel registration proving that they were, in fact, who they purported to be.
At least one anti-Trump protester, dressed in formal attire, was removed from inside the hotel prior to the beginning of the event.
Attendees and hotel guests were also not required to go through magnetometers or security checkpoints to enter the hotel. Additionally, individuals were seen entering the hotel and the ballroom where the president was set to speak without presenting a ticket. Other sources reported similarly and unexpectedly easy access to the hotel in the hours leading up to the dinner.
Inside the Washington Hilton, just steps from the ballroom, there was a security checkpoint, which required individuals to submit to a screening.
It was here that an armed Allen rushed security.
Surveillance video shows him running past the metal detectors before Secret Service agents and law enforcement pull their firearms as Allen disappears out of the camera’s view.
House Speaker Mike Johnson being rushed out of the venue by Secret Service members
Several Secret Service agents were seen with their guns drawn moments after shots rang out in the ballroom
California teacher Cole Allen stormed Saturday night’s White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington, DC
CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer, who was outside the ballroom when Allen attacked said, ‘It looked to me that the gunman, who was firing these rounds, was inside the security… He somehow managed to get inside the metal detectors.’
Allen was then chased by Secret Service and other law enforcement officers and tackled before the doors to the main ballroom.
Several US lawmakers, who were in attendance Saturday evening, noted the apparent lack of security.
Congresswoman Nanette Barragan (D-CA), who was seated near the rostrum told Axios, ‘it’s insane… that this is happening at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Security is supposed to be top notch.’
Congressman Brian Jack (R-GA) noted: ‘Somebody should look into the security protocols that were adopted here.’