Former President Donald Trump will be returning to Pennsylvania just weeks after almost being assassinated at a rally in the state, however, the Secret Service’s countless blunders and fears of a possible copycat are resulting in a ramp-up of security measures.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks tried to kill Trump from an elevated position with a rifle at a campaign rally on July 13 in Butler County. While Crooks only managed to shoot Trump in the ear, he wounded two other rally attendees and killed a third.
The fallout over what turned out to be one of the most epic security failures in Secret Service history led to the agency director’s resignation and numerous revelations concerning unbelievable lapses in judgment, such as allowing the shooter to conduct reconnaissance with a drone just hours before the attack.
Here’s some of what Fox News is reporting on the potential for a copycat assassination attempt:
Former President Donald Trump is slated to speak in Pennsylvania on Wednesday, about 200 miles from the venue where an attempt was made on his life earlier this month. Experts tell Fox News Digital that security measures will be “amped up” in light of scrutiny facing the U.S. Secret Service and the potential for a “copycat” killer.
“You have the expression ‘copycats.’ They say, ‘Look at the attention that [would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks] got,’ and they say, ‘I want that attention,'” Kevin Maloy, a former special agent with the State Department, told Fox News Digital.
“I’m sure the Secret Service have amped up their efforts because, you know, you do have the fear a little bit of a copycat out there. He got that close to ultimate success that easily – maybe I could do something,” he continued.
Gene Petrino, who served as the SWAT commander for Florida’s Plantation Police Department for 26 years and is an expert on active shooter incidents, told Fox News Digital that there is “always a concern for copycat shooters,” and that “a recent attack would most definitely tighten the security risk and response.”