Grassley releases bodycam videos of Trump assassination attempt

Sen. Chuck Grassley released bodycam videos from Pennsylvania authorities related to the July 13 attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Editor’s note:  This story links to video containing images that may be upsetting to some viewers.

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley released additional videos and documents Thursday related to the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.

Grassley said in a news release that the bodycam videos were obtained from the Beaver County Emergency Services Unit (ESU) in compliance with congressional requests. The footage comes as lawmakers questioned Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Col. Christopher Paris on the communication between the U.S. Secret Service, state and local law enforcement during the event when a gunman attempted to kill Trump.

Grassley posted the full 28-minutes of obtained video on YouTube Thursday. The video shows Beaver County EMS personnel speaking with a Secret Service agent shortly following the July 13 shooting, where the 20-year-old shooter killed one rally-goer and injured two others at the campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

The video contains censored bodycam footage of the body of the shooter, who was killed by a Secret Service counter sniper after firing on the crowd and grazing the former president in the ear. The video, obtained from authorities who went to the rooftop where the gunman shot from, shows blood from the body of the shooter.

In the days following, lawmakers have launched bipartisan investigations into the attempted assassination and security for the former president, the 2024 GOP presidential nominee.

Paris testified Tuesday to the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security that while law enforcement officers were monitoring four suspicious individuals, including the shooter, authorities were also responding to incidents at the rally including heat-related illnesses and a missing child. He also said two Butler County Emergency Services Unit officers assigned to monitor the area of the rally where the shooter was located on a rooftop left their post to locate the man after he had been seen with a range finder.

Grassley released the first video Tuesday, saying he was releasing the videos and documents “as part of my efforts to get answers and hold agencies accountable.”

“For the past 10 days, questions have only been building regarding the catastrophic security failure that occurred on July 13,” Grassley said in a statement. “Federal agencies, particularly the Secret Service, have failed to be transparent with the American people. This assassination attempt is a matter of significant public interest, and the public’s business ought to be public.”

The U.S. Secret Service has faced significant scrutiny following the shooting from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, with calls for U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to resign following her testimony on the incident. Cheatle resigned Tuesday , telling her staff in an email obtained by the Associated Press that she took “full responsibility for the security lapse.”

Grassley requested additional information on the Secret Service operational security plan and related rallies for the record in a letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Ronald Rowe, the acting director for the Secret Service.

Citing the videos, he asked for clarification and records related to security provided by the Secret Service and local law enforcement to cover different sectors and buildings during the event, as well as requesting details on the use of Unmanned Aerial Systems — drones — for security during the campaign rally.

The two additional videos from Beaver County Emergency Services Unit, local units that provided additional assistance at the rally, were released Thursday. A news release on the videos stated that Grassley’s office review of the bodycam footage raises questions on the “fragmented and delayed chain of communication” between federal and local law enforcement, as well as the “seemingly delayed response in identifying and disabling a potential detonator device.”