Attempted assassination of Donald Trump at Pennsylvania rally

Hundreds of videos of the attack in Butler, Pennsylvania, have surfaced. They all raise the same questions: How was a shooter allowed to be in an elevated position with a clear line of sight to the target? Why were warnings about an armed individual ignored?

For various reasons, I completely rule out the possibility of a deep state conspiracy to eliminate Trump from the presidential race. Instead, I have sought explanations, and these are comments—written on the fly—by a former expert in this type of security deployment:

Escort and protection operations are carried out with a multi-layered strategy.

The first layer (immediate defense) is responsible for personal protection (the Secret Service in this case). These are the bodyguards at the foot of the stage or running alongside the car.

The second layer, usually provided by local law enforcement, handles intermediate protection and, for example, monitors the crowd near the leader at a rally, theater, or stadium.

The third layer (which varies depending on the case) provides extended defense, including long-range shooters, surveillance drones, plainclothes officers, etc. They ensure the environment is not hostile.

What happened in this case? According to experience and videos, the snipers were in charge of extended defense, much farther away than a roof 125 meters away, which was the responsibility of the intermediate layer.

For unknown reasons, the intermediate layer did not do its job, did not screen individuals, and was slow to communicate with the Secret Service (note: communication issues often arise due to system incompatibility or lack of practice by local forces).

As a result, the Secret Service became aware of the problem moments before the first shot. The sniper had to refocus and lock onto the target. All things considered, he did a good job.

Why did this happen? We can only speculate, but I believe the key is that these visits are not the classic presidential visits prepared for a year in advance. Instead, they are organized within days according to the candidate’s campaign team, and their security plan is much more improvised. In any case, let’s wait for more information and keep in mind that it is impossible to guarantee 100% security, especially at a presidential election event.