Politics Random, Random

[ashkor87]

Saw an interview with a friend of Crooks - said he was bullied almost every day..could be a way to fight that, I guess. Very sad..this bullying is quite pervasive among young people, I believe ,(never seen it myself)

[Suliso]

JD Vance - your likely future president. Still few weeks shy of turning 40.

[ti-amie]

Signs of trouble at Trump rally were evident in minutes before gunman opened fire
Investigators must now piece together how an armed man with no military background managed to reach high ground and get the jump on teams of Secret Service.


Credit: AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar
Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents as he is helped off the stage at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa., Saturday, July 13, 2024.
Author: Associated Press
Published: 3:12 PM MDT July 15, 2024
Updated: 3:12 PM MDT July 15, 2024
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BUTLER, Pa. — Signs of trouble were evident in the minutes before shots rang out at Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania: Police had a report of a suspicious man pacing near the magnetometers and were apparently exchanging photos of the suspect. Witnesses pointed and shouted at an armed man on a nearby roof.

When a police officer climbed up to the roof to investigate, the gunman turned and pointed his rifle at him. But the officer did not — or could not — fire a single shot.

A sniper cut down 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks within seconds of him firing an AR-style rifle toward the former president, but it was too late. Now investigators are trying to painstakingly piece together how an armed man with no military background managed to reach high ground and get the jump on teams of Secret Service agents.

President Joe Biden has ordered an independent investigation of the attempted assassination. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said he has “full confidence” in the Secret Service’s leadership, but he conceded that the gunman never should have reached that deadly position.

“We are speaking of a failure,” Mayorkas told CNN. “We are going to analyze through an independent review how that occurred, why it occurred, and make recommendations and findings to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

At least a dozen police officers and sheriff’s deputies were assisting the Secret Service and Pennsylvania State Police with rally security.

Several rallygoers reported to local officers that Crooks was acting suspiciously and pacing near the magnetometers, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the investigation.

It was a Butler Township police officer who encountered the gunman on the roof before the shooting. The officer was looking for the suspicious person when another officer hoisted him up so he could grab the edge of the roof, local officials said.

The officer dropped back down to safety when the gunman turned and pointed his rifle at him, according to Butler County Sheriff Michael Slupe.

Slupe, who was inside the rally venue when the shooting erupted and did not witness the encounter, said the officer could not have wielded his own gun under the circumstances.

“I think all law enforcement on site did everything that they could, especially the local law enforcement," Slupe told The Associated Press on Monday. "I hope they’re not made a scapegoat, because they did their job to the best of their abilities.”

Butler Township Manager Tom Knights said the officer lost his grip and was not retreating when he fell 8 feet to the ground.

“He was literally dangling from the edge of a building and took the defensive position he needed to at that time. He couldn’t hold himself up,” Knights said.

The officer, who has 10 years of experience in law enforcement, severely injured an ankle in the fall and was in a walking boot, Knights said.

Two spectators were critically wounded in the shooting. A former fire chief, 50-year-old Corey Comperatore, was killed.

The FBI said it was investigating the attack as a potential act of domestic terrorism, but the agency had not identified a clear ideological motive. The FBI believes Crooks, who had bomb-making materials in the car he drove to the rally, acted alone.

The agency said in a statement Monday that it had successfully gained access to Crooks' cellphone and was analyzing all his electronic devices for any clues about a possible motive. The bureau also said that it has finished searching the suspect’s home and car.

The FBI has conducted nearly 100 interviews of law enforcement officials, attendees at the rally and other witnesses, and it has received hundreds of digital media tips.

Authorities said they believe the gunman's AR-style rifle was purchased by his father. Kevin Rojek, FBI special agent in charge in Pittsburgh, said investigators do not yet know if Crooks took the gun without his father’s permission.

The roof where Crooks lay was less than 150 meters (164 yards) from where Trump was speaking, a distance from which a decent marksman could reasonably hit a human-sized target. That is a distance at which U.S. Army recruits must hit a scaled human-sized silhouette to qualify with the M-16 rifle.

https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/natio ... bb4958dc79

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Dickie Scruggs
@DickScruggs
Secret Service says that it had no jurisdiction outside their perimeter, where the shooter was nestled. Say that’s state responsibility. State cops, on the other hand, say they can’t stop a gun-toting citizen from operating outside the perimeter, since PA law ok’s it. Jeez!!

[ashkor87]

As a non-American, I blame the gun culture in the US for this .why is it considered 'cool' to own a gun, that too, an assault rifle?! Wild wild west is fine, but it was loong ago..glorifying violence needs to stop .there is nothing glamorous about it ...

[Owendonovan]

It's considered cool mostly by men, weak, scared, insecure, immature men.

[ti-amie]

[ti-amie]

Trump Snubs Rupert Murdoch with VP Pick After Media Mogul Reportedly Waged an ‘Anyone But J.D.’ Campaign
Alex Griffing Jul 15th, 2024, 5:39 pm

Former President Donald Trump officially chose Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) on Monday to be his running mate on the GOP’s 2024 presidential ticket, a choice former Fox News Chairman Rupert Murdoch campaigned hard against.

Murdoch reportedly waged a fierce campaign for North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum (R) to be Trump’s VP pick, calling the former president multiple times a day and even sending New York Post staffers to Mar-a-Lago to lobby in person.

NOTUS’s Reese Gorman reported over the weekend that “Murdoch has been pushing for Burgum — and against Vance — for quite some time now, both over the phone and by dispatching surrogates to Trump in person.”

A source close to Trump told Gorman that Murdoch’s pro-Burgum campaign shifted to an “anyone but J.D.” campaign as the media mogul remained open to other alternatives as well, including Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL). Gorman reported that the source said Murdoch wanted there to be “a check on Trump” and “that Murdoch had sent News Corp executives to meet with the former president to personally make the pitch for Burgum and against Vance.”

Murdoch appeared to initially support Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) in the primaries, which according to Gorman’s sources, was a major sticking point for Trump as far as continuing to heed the Fox founder’s counsel.

Murdoch’s major U.S. publications publicly hammered Vance while he was privately lobbying against the Ohio senator.

“Murdoch’s private entreaties have also mirrored the public campaign underway in two of his newspapers: The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post. In recent weeks, these sources pointed out, the two papers have run at least five editorials speaking negatively of Vance and advocating for Burgum,” reported Gorman regarding the public-facing side of Murdoch’s campaign.

Trump, who has regularly attacked Fox News in recent years for allegedly not being loyal enough to him, certainly sent a message to Murdoch and the rest of the Republican establishment by choosing Vance as his VP.

https://www.mediaite.com/politics/trump ... -campaign/

[dryrunguy]

I haven't reported recently on my travels to Shirleysburg, PA since I haven't needed to make that trip in a while. If you recall, I used to report on the political signs I have seen strewn about in previous U.S. elections, which in previous years have been pretty numerous and overwhelmingly favored Trump.

Anyway, I drove that way this afternoon. I saw one Trump sign (left over from 8 years ago), one Trump flag (also been there for a long time), and one "F*ck Biden" flag (also been there for a long time).

Trump will win this area in a massive landslide, but for now, people are back in hiding. Which I think is quite curious.

[ti-amie]

I haven't reported recently on my travels to Shirleysburg, PA since I haven't needed to make that trip in a while. If you recall, I used to report on the political signs I have seen strewn about in previous U.S. elections, which in previous years have been pretty numerous and overwhelmingly favored Trump.

Anyway, I drove that way this afternoon. I saw one Trump sign (left over from 8 years ago), one Trump flag (also been there for a long time), and one "F*ck Biden" flag (also been there for a long time).

Trump will win this area in a massive landslide, but for now, people are back in hiding. Which I think is quite curious.

I'm seeing posts on both Xitter and Reddit that think what just happened was staged, and not from the usual suspects. I find that interesting.

There are also reports that the deceased man's family was the target of data mining by RW forces.

ETA:

[ti-amie]

Like I said he's an institutionalist. These things will preserve the status quo. It's also why I could never be POTUS because I would've already expanded the Court at the very least.

[ti-amie]

Alcohol is a hell of a drug.
(Paraphrasing the late Rick James)

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