Intel experts weigh in on ‘red flags’ and security failures behind would-be Trump assassin

Experts who spoke with Fox News have concluded that the would-be Butler assassin, Thomas Crooks, was not a typical, politically motivated extremist.

“Crooks looked not so much like an ideologue, not so much like an individual who was being directed in some way to conduct an assassination attempt, but more like a person with anti-social issues that may have been seeking notoriety,” former FBI agent John Nantz told the network.

That being said, there were certain glaring red flags, such as his lack of friends, not to mention his history of being bullied.

“I gotta pee”

The haunting words of the grieving father of Trump shooter, Thomas Crooks.

Matthew Crooks was confronted by journalists asking why his son had no friends. pic.twitter.com/fXrIj5690o

— Media Consumer (@MediaConsumer9) August 1, 2024

“One thing I thought was interesting — they said he didn’t have friends,”  Nantz noted to Fox News. “Why that wasn’t a red flag for them [the authorities] from the very beginning is a question.”

“I’m a parent. Any parent can tell you that if your child does not have friends, that’s going to be a big concern. And the fact that his parents were both certified counselors raises questions about the level of their engagement,” he added.

All this suggests he was a lone wolf.

“That’s the danger of lone wolves — according to the definition, they’re not talking about this with anybody else, right?” former Secret Service agent Charles Marino said to Fox News. “That’s what appears happened here with Crooks.”

Conspiracies about Crooks having been part of some fantastical, large-scale plot have proliferated anyway because of multiple phone numbers that were found on his burner phone.

Thomas Matthew Crooks had two cell phones. The primary phone was recovered from the scene along with a remote transmitter (detonator). A secondary phone, found at his home, contained only 27 contacts. The FBI is currently tracking down and interviewing those individuals. pic.twitter.com/u8laClXjLg

— @amuse (@amuse) July 18, 2024

“I think the way this conspiracy talk originated was upon the discovery of the multiple [numbers] on his phone,” Marino said. “And so that raised some curiosity about possible international interactions.”

“I can tell you that all of that was investigated. I’m not certain of all of the outcomes. As far as the conspiracies, I know right now it just seems like a total failure to mitigate what was a single threat,” he added.

Speaking of total failure, Marino characterized the Biden administration’s inability to stop Crooks as a “catastrophic failure of the overall security plan.”

“This requires a layered approach to security, and it requires three strong perimeters — an outer perimeter, middle, and inner,” he said. “And we saw complete failure that then exposed other problems in other areas like communication regarding spotting the suspect very early on in the day, all the way down to the communication with the response.”

“That building where Crooks got to the top of the roof wasn’t clear, apparently, to Secret Service. It wasn’t clear to local law enforcement. And it slipped through the cracks,” he added.

BREAKING: Video filmed by a Trump PA rally victim shows a person running on top of the roof where Thomas Crooks shot from just moments before Trump was shot in the face.

Holy sh*t.

The video was obtained by Fox News and filmed by James Copenhaver, who was shot twice.

The… pic.twitter.com/2HGOeBsMvi

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) July 31, 2024

It didn’t help that then-GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump was denied a full Secret Service team full of counter-snipers for his speech in Butler, Pennsylvania where the attempted assassination occurred.

“Marino said that there was ‘no reason’ why Trump, on July 13, should not have had a full team of Secret Service counter-snipers, counter-assault team members and more agents posted at the Butler Fair grounds,” Fox News notes.

Marino said the same about the use of technology.

“It comes in the form of matching the threat with manpower, with technology — why was there not greater use and implementation of Secret Service technology that was running and operational?” he said.

The good news is that the Secret Service has been completely reformed since Trump assumed office in January.

“Now, the Secret Service also has new leadership,” Marino said. “And this is a big part of the success of the agency. You need leaders that are trusted — and as I said, that are going to make the safety and security of those they protect the priority. And they have that leadership now. I’m confident in that leadership.”

Senior Staff Writer
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V. Saxena is a staff writer for BizPac Review with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University.

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