Text Messages Reveal Local SWAT Snipers Spotted Trump Rally Gunman 2 Hours Before Assassination Attempt
Trump called Harris' race into question during an appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention.
July 29 2024, Published 10:00 a.m. ET
Newly released text messages show Donald Trump’s would-be assassin was spotted by local SWAT snipers nearly two hours before he climbed atop a factory roof and fired off eight bullets at the former president.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the text message exchange between members of the Beaver County SWAT team in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13 started at 4:26 PM – more than 100 minutes before the first shot was fired at former President Trump at 6:11 PM.
A sniper with the Beaver County SWAT team first spotted Thomas Matthew Crooks at 4:26 PM.
The first text read: “Someone followed our lead and snuck in and parked by our cars just so you know.”
A second text, written one minute later, read: “I’m just letting you know because you see me go out with my rifle and put it in my car so he knows you guys are up there he’s sitting to the direct right on a picnic table about 50 yards from the exit.”
The person referenced in the text messages was later identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks – the 20-year-old Bethel Park native who almost killed former President Trump that day with an AR-15-style rifle he stole from his father.
Additional messages shared between members of the Beaver County SWAT team one hour later found Crooks had left the picnic table area and made his way to the factory roof where he would initiate his deadly assassination attempt plan.
Other members of the local SWAT team spotted, and snapped photos, of Crooks less than one hour before the shooting started.
At 5:38 PM, roughly 30 minutes before the shooting started, a member of the Beaver County countersniper unit snapped two pictures of Crooks.
One countersniper identified Crooks as a suspicious person and suggested notifying the Secret Service of his position, writing: “Kid learning around building we are in. AGR I believe it is. I did see him with a range finder looking towards stage. FYI.
“If you wanna notify SS snipers to look out. I lost sight of him.”
Another message, sent at 5:40 PM, read: “Call it in to command and have a uniform check it out.”
The motive behind Trump's assassination attempt still remains unclear.
Flash forward to 33 minutes later, and eight shots were heard ringing out from Crooks’ AR-15-style rifle. Former President Trump, 78, was grazed in his right ear and two people – including Crooks – were left dead.
GOP Senator Charles Grassley, 90, provided the text messages to The New York Times on Sunday evening.
As RadarOnline.com reported, the text messages showing the local SWAT team spotted Crooks as early as 4:46 PM on the day of the shooting create a new timeline regarding when certain events unfolded on July 13.
Testimonies given during a recent spate of congressional hearings initially suggested Crooks was first spotted by local authorities just one hour – and not a full two hours – before the hail of bullets rang out toward former President Trump’s head.
The Beaver County SWAT team on location at the Butler Fair Showgrounds on the day of Trump’s July 13 rally have also since spoken out to discuss their first-hand accounts of what transpired on the fateful day.
Trump playing up the assassination attempt on his life during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee earlier this month.
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Jason Woods, the team’s lead sharpshooter, told ABC News: “We were supposed to get a face-to-face briefing with the Secret Service members whenever they arrived, and that never happened.
“So, I think that was probably a pivotal point, where I started thinking things were wrong because it never happened. We had no communication.”
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