New video released over the weekend by a man who was near the AGR building during the July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, shows police responding to what they believed was a threat on the roof of the building several minutes before the would-be assassin, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, opened fire at President Trump.
Two minutes before Crooks fired his first shot, an officer was seen with his handgun drawn, monitoring the roof from the opposite side of where Crooks was ultimately located.
The man who posted the videos, self-identified as Dave, Dayve Stewart or realDJStew724, posted them to X Twitter and YouTube after getting his phone back from the FBI, he said.
A short video posted Saturday to X has the moment when Crooks opened fire, through the sniper kill shot and the police reaction afterward.
Stewart has situational awareness, warning someone near him as he sees police again responding to a perceived threat, “Make yourself small, bro. I don’t know what’s going on,” about twelve seconds before Crooks opened fire.
VIDEO AT THE END OF THE ARTICLE!
Video footage from the stands, directed toward the AGR building, captures Stewart, wearing a red shirt, rushing to take cover behind a tree just before the shooting began.
A longer video posted by Stewart on YouTube includes footage from about an hour before the shooting, showing an attempt to clear the area that was ultimately unsuccessful. The video pauses and then resumes just minutes before the shooting began.
At least five police officers are visible carefully watching the roof while taking positions around the AGR building. Two minutes before the shooting began, one officer, with his handgun drawn, stood at a distance from the building before climbing onto a picnic table to gain a better view of the roof.
One minute before Crooks fired his weapon, two officers are seen approaching the building—first walking, then running out of view around the end of the structure. Meanwhile, a woman on a horse carrying a Trump flag calmly rides by. At this moment, Trump can be heard discussing the immigration chart that would later play a crucial role in saving his life.
Stewart’s video shows state and local police trying to manage a situation that the Secret Service was expected to handle. However, the Secret Service superiors chose not to intervene.
The officers radioed their observations, but when one officer drew his weapon due to a perceived threat on the roof while Trump was on stage, neither Trump nor his Secret Service detail were notified. Two minutes later, Trump was shot in the head, resulting in one supporter’s death and two others being seriously injured.
WATCH THE VIDEOS:
Butler, Pa Trump Rally Shooting. 07/13/24. This is a 2 minute clip from about an hours worth of footage that I recorded from the fence line. More to come. The F.B.I. seized my phone that day and I took it back from them on 07/19/24 pic.twitter.com/NlIPCladVC
— Dave (@realDJStew724) July 27, 2024
VIDEO SECONDS BEFORE THE SHOOTING STARTED:
That’s me in the red shirt running behind the tree. You can see a small clip of the footage from my perspective in my previous posts. I will continue to most more clips so stay tuned pic.twitter.com/aQXteXwHpL
— Dave (@realDJStew724) July 28, 2024
LONGER VIDEO ON YOUTUBE:
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