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Crime

Secret Service Tells Senators They ‘Identified’ Shooter Roughly 50 Mins Before Trump Took Rally Stage, Sources Say

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From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By NICK POPE

 

“I have no confidence in the leadership of Director Cheatle and believe it is in the best interest of our nation if she steps down from her position.”

The U.S. Secret Service (USSS) and the FBI told lawmakers Wednesday that former President Donald Trump’s would-be assassin was identified well before shots rang out at the Pennsylvania rally, according to sources familiar with the briefing.

Federal law enforcement held the briefing with lawmakers to go over specifics of the shooting that nearly killed Trump on Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania. During the call, USSS and FBI officials stated that the gunman, later identified as Thomas Crooks, was noticed about an hour before the shooting, or approximately 50 minutes before Trump took the stage to address the crowd, according to two sources familiar with the briefing.

“There was zero accountability from Secret Service,” one source familiar with the briefing told the DCNF. “They identified the shooter 60 minutes prior to the assassination attempt.”

Given that the shooter opened fire about 60 minutes after being identified, and about ten minutes into Trump’s speech, this means that the identification occurred roughly 50 minutes before the former president took the stage.

Another source familiar with the briefing confirmed this particular detail to the DCNF. One of the sources said the officials told senators that Crooks was spotted with a range finder.

Both sources familiar with the briefing described it as a major disappointment given the gravity of the subject it addressed.

“Multiple members” who wanted to ask questions on the video call were not granted the opportunity to do so, according to another source familiar with the briefing. “They did not have answers to basic questions,” the source told the DCNF in reference to USSS and FBI.

USSS also spotted Crooks on the roof from which he opened fire about 20 minutes before shots rang out, according to ABC News, citing its own sources familiar with the briefing.

The security lapses that allowed Crooks to get several clean shots off at Trump from close range have raised serious questions from Republicans, who have widely and sharply criticized the USSS’ performance on Saturday as one of the worst failures in the agency’s history.

USSS Director Kimberly Cheatle has been lambasted for her response to the situation, which has included a statement to ABC News that security was not present on the roof from which Crooks opened fire because it is sloped.

Several lawmakers went public with their criticisms after the briefing as well.

“I just got off a briefing with the Secret Service and FBI. I am appalled to learn that the Secret Service knew about a threat prior to President Trump walking on stage,” Republican Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn wrote in a Wednesday post to X. “I have no confidence in the leadership of Director Cheatle and believe it is in the best interest of our nation if she steps down from her position.”

Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee expressed a similar view in his own post to X after the briefing.

“Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle needs to step down immediately. Today’s (mostly) information-free briefing only confirmed that,” Lee wrote. “What little information she gave us was at once deeply troubling and glaringly incomplete.”

Republican Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming also ripped the Secret Service after the briefing concluded.

“This was a 100% cover-your-ass briefing. He was identified as being suspicious one hour before the shooting. He had a range finder and a backpack. The Secret Service lost sight of him,” Barrasso said in a statement shared on X. “No one has taken responsibility. No one has been held responsible. Someone has died. The President was almost killed. The head of the Secret Service needs to go.”

The FBI and USSS did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

Crime

Time to call Antifa what it is — a terrorist organization

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MXM logo MxM News

Quick Hit:

President Trump announced Wednesday he will designate Antifa a “MAJOR TERRORIST ORGANIZATION,” calling it a “sick, dangerous, radical left disaster” and vowing to investigate its funders. The move follows Charlie Kirk’s assassination by a suspect tied to extremist leftist ideology.

Key Details:

  • On Truth Social, Trump wrote: “I am pleased to inform our many U.S.A. Patriots that I am designating ANTIFA, A SICK, DANGEROUS, RADICAL LEFT DISASTER, AS A MAJOR TERRORIST ORGANIZATION.”
  • Trump added that he would recommend “those funding ANTIFA be thoroughly investigated in accordance with the highest legal standards and practices.”
  • Antifa, short for “anti-fascist,” has no formal leadership structure but is known for violent clashes with police and for stoking riots at protests. Trump said earlier this week he was “100%” in favor of labeling the group as a terror organization.

Diving Deeper:

President Trump on Wednesday escalated his administration’s push against violent left-wing groups by declaring that Antifa will be designated as a “major terrorist organization.” Posting the announcement on Truth Social, Trump described the group as “a sick, dangerous, radical left disaster” and emphasized that investigations into Antifa’s backers should begin immediately. “I will also be strongly recommending that those funding ANTIFA be thoroughly investigated in accordance with the highest legal standards and practices,” Trump said.

The decision follows mounting calls for action in the wake of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination last week. Authorities have identified the suspect, Tyler Robinson, as a 22-year-old who was “deeply indoctrinated with leftist ideology.” The tragedy has intensified pressure on the administration to act against groups viewed as fueling extremist violence.

Antifa, which stands for “anti-fascist,” is less a formal organization than a loose movement. Its members, often dressed in black and masked, are notorious for showing up at protests to provoke violent clashes with law enforcement and political opponents. While its supporters describe the group as anti-authoritarian, critics point out its consistent record of property destruction, rioting, and violent confrontations.

Trump had previewed the move earlier in the week, telling reporters he was “100%” supportive of officially designating the group as a terrorist organization. The announcement also aligns with Trump’s longstanding campaign promise to crack down on lawlessness and protect communities from radical ideologies.

By targeting Antifa not just in name but by directing legal scrutiny toward its funding networks, Trump is signaling a more aggressive federal posture toward violent left-wing movements. The designation would allow federal authorities to treat Antifa’s activities with the same severity reserved for foreign terrorist groups, widening the scope of investigations and penalties against those linked to its operations.

(AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus)

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Crime

FBI says ‘a lot more’ than 20 people ‘may have known’ Charlie Kirk was going to be shot

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From LifeSiteNews

By Calvin Freiburger

The FBI is investigating the possibility that dozens of Discord users may have had knowledge about the planned murder of Charlie Kirk before it happened.

The FBI is currently investigating the possibility that dozens of other individuals may have known about the planned murder of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk through their participation in an online chatroom.

Kirk, the head of campus outreach group Turning Point USA, was fatally shot on September 10 while speaking at an outdoor event at Utah Valley University. Two days later, authorities apprehended and accused 22-year-old Robinson of the shooting and detailed how he was motivated by his view of Kirk as “hateful.” Robinson was in a romantic relationship with his male roommate, who is in the process of “transitioning” to female.

On Monday, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino told Newsmax host Rob Schmitt that investigators are looking at a chat room on the platform Discord in which Robinson participated and a “potential broader network of people who may have known” what he was planning. He cautioned that the investigation was still in the early stages, and were not yet certain of who knew what when.

“The only question is the timeline that other people knew about the incident. Did they know before? Did they know afterward?” Bongino said. “When you read some of the traffic, it’s unclear if that message was received before or after.”

The next day, FBI Director Kash Patel testified before Congress on a wide range of topics, during which the state of the investigation came up.

“I see the public reports that the Discord thread had as many as 20 additional users,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) said, to which Patel said it was a “lot more than that,” and “we’re running them all down.”

Patel would not go so far as to say definitively that more individuals than Robinson were involved in the assassination, but said it remains a possibility. “There are a number of individuals that are currently being investigated and interrogated — and a number yet to be investigated and interrogated related to that chatroom,” he said.

Discord has issued a statement insisting there is “no evidence that the suspect planned this incident or promoted violence” on the platform. Robinson announced to his chat room that he had done it roughly two hours after the shooting.

“Hey guys, I have bad news for you all,” Robinson told the 30-some members of the chat. “It was me at [Utah Valley University] yesterday. i’m sorry for all of this […] Im surrendering through a sheriff friend in a few moments. thanks for all the good times and laughs, you’ve all been so amazing, thank you all for everything.”

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