(Ken Silva, Headline USA) In the immediate aftermath of the July 13 assassination attempt against presidential frontrunner Donald Trump, someone who attended that rally told NBC News that there was a shooter on the nearby water tower.
“What I’ve heard coming out is they feel there were two shooters, one on both sides. They got the one on the tower, but the one on the right side they never got,” said an attendee.
Holy shit an eye witness is reporting 2 shooters pic.twitter.com/DtrJRdZrx7
— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) July 13, 2024
Since then, speculation has continued about a possible second shooter who shot at Trump. However, top government officials are putting forth the narrative that only one shooter, Thomas Crooks, fired eight shots before a Secret Service counter sniper killed Crooks with a single shot of his own—calling into question earlier reports that local counter snipers also fired, as well as a report about Crooks’s corpse having three gunshot wounds.
Regardless of how many shooters there were or how many shots were fired, questions about the water tower remain. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, added to those questions Thursday, when he released body camera footage of law enforcement officers discussing the water tower.
At one point in the body cam footage, a law enforcement official can be heard requesting “access to a drone to clear the water tower.”
Perhaps even more intriguingly, Headline USA heard an officer saying that someone “said they saw something on top of the water tower before this all started.”
NEW: Recently released body cam footage reveals that someone "said they saw something on top of the water tower before this all started." pic.twitter.com/HaZ75RBGiD
— Headline USA (@HeadlineUSA) July 26, 2024
It’s not clear whether Grassley’s staff have picked on the statement heard by this publication. In a press release, the senator only flagged law enforcement discussing “the need to use a drone to inspect and secure the water tower on site.”
In a Wednesday leader to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Grassley asked about the water tower.
“Was the water tower cleared in advance of the rally? If not, why not? Did the water tower have any role in the events at the Trump rally? Please describe,” he asked.
It’s not clear whether Mayorkas has provided an answer. Other lawmakers have accused him of stonewalling Congress.
Former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle did tell Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Co., on Monday that her agency didn’t have any agents on the tower.
Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., a former Navy SEAL sniper, also said there weren’t any counter snipers on the water tower when he grilled Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Christopher Paris about the matter at a Tuesday hearing.
“I was a Sniper in the Seal Teams, Colonel, and this is just obvious…”
“Are you surprised that a lot of Americans think there might be more to this story?” pic.twitter.com/q1aCOjI2JL
— Liz Churchill (@liz_churchill10) July 23, 2024
“Do you know how far water tower was from the roof where the shooter took his shots?” Crane asked, to which Paris responded: “No.”
“160 yards,” Crane said, answering his own question. The congressman then asked Paris why no counter snipers were on the tallest structure in the area. Paris said he didn’t know.
“Are you aware many Americans believe this wasn’t a lone shooter, but a coordinated assassination attempt?” Crane continued.
“As soon as I got out of the SUV and I saw that water tower, I said, ‘That’s exactly where I’d want to be.’ So obvious,” Crane added, referencing his trip to the crime scene.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
