Trump to return to Butler, PA after assassination attempt
Fox News national correspondent Jeff Paul reports on the former president’s planned return and federal agents patrolling the shooting scene.
PITTSBURGH – The Butler Farm Show board of directors on Tuesday told Fox News that the fairgrounds where former President Trump hosted his July 13 rally in Western Pennsylvania is no longer an active crime scene.
The upcoming show — one of the county's largest and most anticipated events of the year — is scheduled to take place between Aug. 5 and Aug. 10.
"At this time, the Butler Farm Show grounds are not part of an active crime scene, and the grounds have been released by the FBI," the board of directors told Fox News approximately two and a half weeks after the assassination attempt.
The board of directors also told Fox News that it is not permitting news media outlets onto the grounds as they make final preparations for the Butler Farm Show.
TRUMP SHOOTING: TIMELINE OF ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT
The Butler Farm Show grounds, approximately two weeks following the shooting, were preparing to launch their county-wide fair. (Sarah Rumpf-Whitten/Fox News Digital)
"[W]e are actively working to ensure everything is ready for a successful event, and we want to make sure our team can focus fully on these preparations," the board said in a statement. "We greatly appreciate your understanding and cooperation in this matter."
In congressional hearings following the shooting that left 50-year-old Corey Comperatore dead and two others — James Copenhaver, 74, and David Dutch, 57 — critically wounded, U.S. Secret Service and FBI officials gave more insight into how gunman Thomas Crooks got onto the roof of a building about 150 yards from former President Trump's podium at the rally.
The Butler Farm Show, site of a campaign rally for Republican presidential candidate former President Trump, is seen Monday, July 15, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump was wounded on July 13 during an assassination attempt while speaking at the rally. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
The FBI on Monday morning told reporters in a conference call that Crooks accessed the roof of a building owned by American Glass Research (AGR) near Trump's rally using HVAC equipment and piping.
Crooks then traversed rooftops before he found his shooting position on top of the AGR building, located near the fairgrounds about 150 yards from where the former president spoke at his rally. He had a collapsible AR-15 and a rangefinder with him at the time.
WATCH: ANIMATION SHOWS WHERE CROOKS STOOD DURING ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT
On the day of the rally, Crooks parked his vehicle and flew a drone between about 3:50 p.m. and 4 p.m. about 200 yards from where the former president would be speaking on July 13.
TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT: FBI SAYS GUNMAN CLIMBED HVAC, TRAVERSED ROOFTOPS TO SHOOTING PERCH
FBI Director Christopher Wray testified during a July 17 congressional hearing that Crooks had been at the rally site for about 70 minutes the morning of the assassination attempt.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers visited the site of former President Trump’s attempted assassination that left one attendee dead and two injured at a campaign rally on July 13. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital )
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The public has also learned that Crooks evaded security even after being noticed by law enforcement approximately 90 minutes before shots rang out.
It remains unclear why Trump was allowed to get on stage and continue his rally despite law enforcement identifying a suspicious person at the rally, but the FBI said more than 300 agents and staff are working "round the clock" to gather facts and put together a clearer timeline of Crooks' actions.
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