Sheriff defends local police officer who confronted Trump shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks on roof moments before he opened fire at Pennsylvania rally

A local Pennslyvania sheriff has defended the police officer who confronted Donald Trump’s would-be assassin on the roof moments before he opened fire.

Butler County Sheriff Michael Slupe confirmed on Monday that one of his armed officers encountered Thomas Matthew Crooks seconds before he unleashed carnage on the former president’s rally.

The cop, who has not been named, retreated when Crooks pointed his AR-style rifle at him.

Slupe defended the decision and told KDKA he would ‘have done the same thing.’

‘All I know is the officer had both hands on the roof to get up on the roof, never made it because the shooter had turned towards the officer, and rightfully and smartly, the officer let go.

‘I mean, people think the officers are supermen like you hold on the roof with one hand while you are hanging on for dear life and pull a gun out. It doesn’t work that way.

Slupe also said that members of his department were alerted to Crooks’ suspicious behavior before the rally began and started searching for him right away.

Law enforcement and the Secret Service are under intense scrutiny after it was revealed the roof from where Crooks opened fire was flagged as a security risk.

Local police, not the Secret Service, swept the building, but Crooks was still able to climb to the top and take aim at the former president.

He killed a member of the rally crowd and shot Trump in the ear.

Slupe acknowledged that Crooks was in the ‘secondary ring’ of protection when he opened fire.

He said the Secret Service is responsible for the ring immediately around the president, but local police take control of the outer ring.

With time ticking down to the announcement of Donald Trump’s running mate, DailyMail.com can reveal that no one has yet been offered the gig.

The party convention in Milwaukee is expected to reveal the former president’s choice of vice president on Monday.

But a source familiar with the process said late on Monday morning: ‘No one has had it offered to them yet.’

Fox News anchor Bret Baier said the president had told him he would be announcing his decision today.

MSNBC did not air Morning Joe – its signature morning politics show – on Monday, instead airing breaking news coverage of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.

The decision was made in part to avoid a potentially embarrassing moment for the network.

There were worries one of the guests on the program’s roundtable might make an inappropriate comment on live television that could be used to attack the network and the program, CNN reported.

The network is known for having guests that tilt toward progressive and Democratic politics.

Some of Trump’s supporters have blamed the ‘liberal media’ for the attempt on the former president’s life.

Cesar Conde, the chairman of NBCUniversal News Group, appears to have been behind the decision to yank the show.

The hosts Joe Scarborough and Mike Brzezinski are vehement Trump critics and have often clashed with the former president

By Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Former President Donald Trump on Monday called on the Secret Service to start providing protection for independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Kennedy has long requested protection from the Secret Service as both his father, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and uncle, President John F. Kennedy, were assassinated while in office.

RFK was running for president in 1968 and speaking at a campaign event at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles when he was murdered by an assassin’s bullet.

Trump survived an assassination attempt at his own campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday.

Trump said on Truth Monday:

In light of what is going on in the world today, I believe it is imperative that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. receive Secret Service protection — immediately. Given the history of the Kennedy Family, this is the obvious right thing to do!

Donald Trump’s campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt has given birth.

She revealed she had welcomed son Nicholas into the world in an adorable Instagram post.

‘July 10, 2024. 11:25PM. The moment our son was born. The moment I officially became a mom. The best moment of my life.

It’s true when they say there’s nothing comparable to the love you feel for your child. My heart has grown bigger than I ever imagined possible. Babies are the ultimate blessing and I’m bursting with gratitude for our beautiful, happy, healthy boy.

Now that I’m a mom, I am also more frightened than ever for the future of our country, especially after the assassination attempt of my boss and former President Trump. We need more love in this world. We need to treat every one of our fellow humans as we want our own children to be treated – with respect.

Nicholas Robert aka Niko. 🤗 My son. I love you. 💙’

By Geoff Earle, Deputy U.S. Political Editor in Milwaukee

Seasoned Republican congressional investigators are warning about the high stakes for Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, who has been called to testify before the House Oversight Committee about the shooting that could have killed former President Trump.

‘Somebody, somewhere has a really, really a lot of serious questions to have to answer,’ House Judiciary and ‘Weaponization’ committee member Kelly Armstrong of North Dakota told DailyMail.com in Milwaukee.

‘I’m not going to guess, I mean, there are 1,000 different ways a screw up can happen. This is a really, really big screw and somebody needs to be held accountable for it really quickly,’ he said, amid new relevations about the failure to secure a building 150 yards away from where Trump spoke Saturday in Pennsylvania.

‘That just can’t happen here. They have to come out and say how this happened. How this was possible?’

Former Oversight Committee chair Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) told DailyMail.com, ‘I went through it with Director [Julia] Pierson. I went through it with Director [Joseph] Clancy both ended up having to resign after he went through investigations because it was not a pretty picture and this seems to feel smell like that.

‘I know the FBI has taken control of the investigation, but Secret Service had control of the perimeter and the security of the president. I think it’s I think it’s quite interesting that they took this away from Homeland Security and gave it to the Department of Justice. That speaks volumes,’ he said.

By Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

DailyMail.com caught the house band at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee Monday morning practicing what is traditionally former President Donald Trump’s walk-on song: Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the USA.

Video also captures the teleprompter set up for Monday’s speeches and balloons hanging from the rafters, ready for a balloon drop.

Trump arrived in Milwaukee Sunday after surviving an assassination attempt Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania.

He’s expected to kick-off the four-day convention by announcing his VP pick sometime Monday, divulging that information to Fox News’ Bret Baier.

Speaker Mike Johnson said it was a ‘great relief’ and a ‘great day for justice’ after Judge Aileen Cannon tossed out the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump.

‘I think it’s a great result, it’s a great relief to us,’ Speaker Mike Johnson told DailyMail.com in an interview on day one of the Republican National Convention.

Special Counsel Jack Smith was ‘beyond the bounds of what you should be doing,’ said Johnson, ‘so I’m grateful that Judge Cannon recognized that. We’ll see what effect this has on the other cases, but it’s certainly a great day for justice.’

Donald Trump lawyer Alina Habba defended Judge Aileen’s cannon after she dramatically threw out Trump’s classified documents case in Florida. ‘At the end of the day, you can criticize Judge Cannon, and a lot of people do, but she’s looking at the Constitution … They’re looking at rights of the executive branch,’ she told CNN.

She didn’t rule out independent counsels being used in a second Trump administration. ‘If and when we win, we are going to have to be transparent with America. We are going to have to make sure that people are appointed special counsel the correct way,’ she said.

President Joe Biden returns to the campaign trail on Tuesday after pausing political operations in the wake of the assassination attempt on rival Donald Trump.

Biden heads to Las Vegas, where he will spend two days talking to black and latino voters as he struggles to reset his campaign in the new political reality.

As part of the trip, he and his team will be testing the waters on how it can push forward with his candidacy without appearing insensitive to Trump. Several conservatives pointed to Biden’s campaign rhetoric as a reason Trump was targeted. Both sides have spoken harshly of the other.

Donald Trump has revealed he will announce his pick to be Vice President today.

He made the announcement to Fox News’ Brett Baier in a phone call on Monday morning.

Former President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Monday morning to welcome the dismissal of the Florida documents case against him.

He arrived in Milwaukee on Sunday evening for the Republican National Convention a day after surviving an assassination attempt.

The developments in Florida will provide another filip to a campaign that is on the up after weeks of pressure on his opponent President Joe Biden.

Yet the triumphalist tone is a step away from the messages of unity his allies have trailed for this week.

As we move forward in Uniting our Nation after the horrific events on Saturday, this dismissal of the Lawless Indictment in Florida should be just the first step, followed quickly by the dismissal of ALL the Witch Hunts

A lawmaker briefing with the Secret Service will occur on Tuesday, a source familiar tells DailyMail.com.

In addition, based on the House Oversight Committee’s conversations with the Secret Service, Director Cheatle is expected to appear for a hearing on Monday, July 22.

The source added that more details will be announced soon.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter in Milwaukee, Wisconsion

More than 50,000 people are descending on Milwaukee this week for the Republican National Convention in the wake of an assassination attempt on the Donald Trump.

A shooter hit the former president’s ear during his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday before being shot dead by Secret Service. One rally attendee is deceased and two others are injured.

But Trump is still going full steam ahead to Milwaukee this week for the Republican National Convention where he will end the week as the GOP presidential nominee for the third time in a row.

DailyMail.com breaks down all the details of this year’s convention and what to watch as the events unfold and how it’s affected after the historic assassination attempt:

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has a speaking slot at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Tuesday.

Sanders served as Trump’s White House Press Secretary for two years before she tearfully stepped down from her post to pursue public office in her home state.

The two spoke by phone on Sunday afternoon, a White House official told DailyMail.com.

No other details about the call were available.

The classified documents case against Donald Trump has been dismissed by a federal judge in a bombshell ruling less than 48 hours after he was shot.

The former president was accused of taking highly sensitive files to Mar-a-Lago when he left the White House.

Judge Aileen Cannon threw the case out based on ‘violations’ of the Constitution’s Appointments Clause and Appropriations Clause.

This is a huge win for Trump as he seeks to get his other criminal cases thrown out.

Donald Trump plans to strike a unifying tone at the Republican Convention this week.

He will dial down his rhetoric in a bid to unify America, Axios reported.

Tucker Carlson, who will be speaking at the Convention, told the outlet:

I think it’s real.Getting shot in the face changes a man.

Former President Donald Trump has spoken to one of the odd unanswered questions of Saturday’s assassination attempt: his repeated call for his shoes.

‘Let me get my shoes, let me get my shoes,’ Trump said, as agents secured him and told him his head was bloodied. ‘Let me get my shoes,’ Trump repeated.

He told columnist Michael Goodwin of the New York Post, ‘The agents hit me so hard that my shoes fell off, and my shoes are tight,’ smiling at the observation.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Local Milwaukee businesses protested the Republican National Convention by putting up signs bashing the party.

‘Welcome fiuture fake electors,’ a sign in the window of the Penzeys Spices store reads.

Another on a chalboard outside a local bar says, ‘Horrible city welcomes RNC facists,’ in reference to reports Donald Trump called Milwaukee a ‘horrible city’ during a closed door meeting with Republican lawmakers last month.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

New video emerged Sunday night showing Donald Trump’s supporters outside the security perimeter pointing at the would-be assassin as he bear-crawled on the roof of a nearby building before opening fire on the former president.

A nearly 50-second clip shows people outside the Butler, Pennsylvnia event looking, pointing and questioning why there was a man on the roof of an industrial building just 130 yards from the stage where Trump was speaking.

‘Look, they’re all pointing,’ the man behind the camera is heard saying as it pans from the stage to the warehouse roof where a figure is seen crawling. ‘Yeah someone’s on top of the roof – look.’

‘He’s on the roof!’ a woman yells 40 seconds into the video as Trump is heard in the background continuing his remarks.

Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was killed by U.S. Secret Service after his assassination attempt on Trump at his rally Saturday.

Donald Trump’s would-be assassin purchased 50 rounds of ammunition just hours before the shooting, according to bombshell reports.

The Secret Service also did not sweep the roof where gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire at the former president.

The horrifying new developments reported by CNN come as the Secret Service faces mounting questions over how the 20-year-old managed to get just 130 yards from where Trump was speaking in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Crooks shot Trump in the ear with an AR-style rifle his father purchased legally.

Multiple witnesses have said they warned law enforcement that a gunman was crawling on the building, but didn’t respond before he started shooting.

‘Look, they’re all pointing,’ the man behind the camera is heard saying as it pans from the stage to the warehouse roof where a figure is seen crawling. ‘Yeah someone’s on top of the roof – look.’

The roof where Crooks lay down with his weapon was flagged as a security concern, and was swept by local law enforcement not the Secret Service.

When Donald Trump arrived in Milwaukee last night there was one very visible sign of how the Secret Service had changed its posture around the former president.

Trump usually walks down the steps from Trump Force One alone, all the better to appear commanding in photographs and videos.

But yesterday a Secret Service agent was two steps behind, in a sign of how everything has changed in the wake of Saturday’s shooting.

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has confirmed Donald Trump’s security detail has been increased for the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week after the assassination attempt.

Embattled Cheatle is facing calls to resign after gunman Thomas Mathew Crooks managed to crawl on a roof just 130 yards away from where Trump was speaking and open fire.

I would like to start by extending my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Corey Comperatore, who was killed during the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump’s life in Butler, Pennsylvania, Saturday, as well as those who were injured during this senseless act of violence.

Secret Service personnel on the ground moved quickly during the incident, with our counter sniper team neutralizing the shooter and our agents implementing protective measures to ensure the safety of former president Donald Trump.

Since the shooting, I have been in constant contact with Secret Service personnel in Pennsylvania who worked to maintain the integrity of the crime scene until the FBI assumed its role as the lead investigating agency into the assassination attempt. I have also been coordinating with the protective detail for former President Trump and have briefed President Biden on the details of the incident.

The Secret Service is working with all involved Federal, state and local agencies to understand what happened, how it happened, and how we can prevent an incident like this from ever taking place again. We understand the importance of the independent review announced by President Biden yesterday and will participate fully. We will also work with the appropriate Congressional committees on any oversight action.

The incident in Pennsylvania has understandably led to questions about potential updates or changes to the security for the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. The U.S. Secret Service, in conjunction with our Federal, state and local law enforcement and public safety partners, designs operational security plans for National Special Security Events (NSSE) to be dynamic in order to respond to a kinetic security environment and the most up-to-date intelligence from our partners.

I am confident in the security plan our Secret Service RNC coordinator and our partners have put in place, which we have reviewed and strengthened in the wake of Saturday’s shooting. The security plans for National Special Security Events are designed to be flexible. As the conventions progress, and in accordance with the direction of the President, the Secret Service will continuously adapt our operations as necessary in order to ensure the highest level of safety and security for convention attendees, volunteers and the City of Milwaukee. In addition to the additional security enhancements we provided former President Trump’s detail in June, we have also implemented changes to his security detail since Saturday to ensure his continued protection for the convention and the remainder of the campaign.

The Secret Service is tasked with the tremendous responsibility of protecting the current and former leaders of our democracy. It is a responsibility that I take incredibly seriously, and I am committed to fulfilling that mission.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has admitted the shooting of Donald Trump was a ‘failure’ by the Secret Service.

The Biden cabinet member also said gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks should have never been able to get into the ‘direct line’ of sight to be able to open fire.

He spoke out on multiple morning shows and pointed to the independent review ordered by President Joe Biden.

On CNN, he rejected the ‘baseless’ and ‘irresponsible’ allegations that requests to increase Trump’s protective detail had been denied.

He was also grilled about a report suggesting the Secret Service didn’t even sweep the roof where Crooks started shooting and left it up to local law enforcement.

Mayorkas deferred to the independent review and said the federal government always works with police in the area.

Trump told the New York Post:

The doctor at the hospital said he never saw anything like this, he called it a miracle. By luck or by God, many people are saying it’s by God, I’m still here.

The roof from which gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, shot at Donald Trump had reportedly been flagged as a potential security problem by the Secret Service before the assassination attempt, according to a report by NBC News.

Crooks climbed on to the roof of a building belonging to a glass research company which was 150 yards from where Trump was speaking on a stage in Butler, Pennsylvania. A source told NBC News:

Someone should have been on the roof or securing the building so no one could get on the roof,”

The Secret Service had indicated the building should be under the jursdiction of local law enforcement because it was outside the rally perimiter, according to the report.

Crooks is pictured here in 2021.