Congress report says shot hit would-be assassin’s weapon, wounding him before he was killed by Secret Service sniper.
The first shot back at the would-be assassin who was firing at Donald Trump last month was from local law enforcement and hit the gunman’s weapon, briefly knocking him down, a preliminary report from US Congress has revealed. The gunman was wounded by fragments flying from the damaged weapon and then, as he got back up, he was killed by a federal sniper, the report found.
The Guardian reports: The Louisiana Republican congressman Clay Higgins, a member of a House of Representatives taskforce set up to investigate the assassination attempt at the former president’s campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, issued the interim report. It found that the gunman, Matthew Crooks, fired eight shots from the rooftop of a warehouse, slightly injuring Trump on stage and hitting several in the crowd gathered on 13 July, killing one, a father who dived to protect relatives.”
The preliminary report details some of Congressman Higgins’ findings thus far. However, it is not exhaustive, nor final.
Notable observations include:
- “U.S. Secret Service did not retrieve the radios that had been set aside for them by Butler County tactical command. The radio comms were properly and perfectly arranged during the extensive pre-mission planning.”
- “All 8 casings (from shots fired by Crooks) were recovered and are allegedly in proper possession of the FBI.”
- “The 9th shot fired on J13 was from a Butler SWAT operator from the ground about 100 yards away from the AGR building. Shot 9 hit Crooks’ rifle stock and fragged his face/neck/right shoulder area from the stock breaking up.”
- “The 10th (and, I believe, final) shot was fired from the southern counter-sniper team.”
- “My effort to examine Crooks’ body on Monday, August 5, caused quite a stir and revealed a disturbing fact… the FBI released the body for cremation 10 days after J13.”
- “The water tower was cleared by drone J13 AM by the County tactical commander, ESU Commander Lenz himself.” https://clayhiggins.house.gov/2024/08/15/higgins-releases-preliminary-investigative-report/
Judicial Watch has released a report as well — its information is unreliable; information from The Higgins report may be just as unreliable. Reportedly, several law enforcement agencies have yet to release their reports on their own investigations.
“Overall, we rate Judicial Watch Questionable based on extreme right-wing bias, promotion of conspiracy theories, and an abysmal fact-check record. “Media Bias Fact Check
According to the Pittsburg Post Gazette, Higgins report is hinting at a a cover-up by the FBI and others. “On July 23, Crooks was gone,” he said. He added that while the Butler county coroner “technically had legal authority over the body,” he would “have never released Crooks’ body to the family for cremation or burial without specific permission from the FBI.
“The problem with me not being able to examine the actual body is that I won’t know 100% if the coroner’s report and the autopsy report are accurate,” Mr. Higgins’ report continued. “We will actually never know. Yes, we’ll get the reports and pictures, etc., but I will not ever be able to say with certainty that those reports and pictures are accurate according to my own examination of the body.”
The congressman also claimed the FBI “cleaned up biological evidence from the crime scene, which is unheard of. Cops don’t do that, ever.” This pattern of investigative scorched earth by the FBI is quite troubling,” he said.
The Post Gazette;”The FBI’s Pittsburgh office told the Post-Gazette that “nothing was rushed” in the aftermath of the shooting. “The FBI continues its painstaking work on the investigation to develop as complete a picture as possible of what led to the shooting, and we remain committed to maximum transparency as we continue to brief Congress and publish information for the public regarding the ongoing investigation.”The Secret Service did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A message left with the Butler County coroner’s office was not immediately returned.
