Sunday, July 14, 2024

Something's Fishy

                                                           Something’s Fishy

                                                        Junious Ricardo Stanton

                                                Associated Press Photo by Gene J. Puskar


On Saturday evening July 13 , 2024 at 6:131 PM a shooter who gained access to a rooftop with a direct line of sight to the podium about a hundred fifty yards from where Presidential candidate Donald Trump was about to speak at a campaign rally in Butler Pennsylvania fired off several rounds from a rifle. Trump was hit on the tip of his right ear. Several civilians were injured one died and the shooter was killed or to use a CIA term “neutralized” by the Secret Service Counter Assassination Team. All the facts are not out yet but from what I saw of the footage, something doesn’t pass the smell test, something is fishy here.

The media is replaying parts of the event over and over again especially the part where Trump grabs his ear and drops to the floor. Looking at the footage I have numerous questions about the effectiveness of the security that day. First off why weren’t SS agents closer to Trump? After the shots Trump grabs his ear and drops to the floor Secret Service agents are seen running onto the podium, several surround him, shield him with their bodies, stand him upright and lead him off the stage to a waiting vehicle. Why weren’t agents closer in proximity to the candidate? Why weren’t they at least positioned on the stage? How many Secret Service agents were detailed for that event? How many Pennsylvania State Police and local law enforcement assets were assigned to cover the event and the area and how many hours of pre-event planning and coordination were done? Were unmanned aerial vehicles aka drones employed by security to have an eye on the whole area? If not why not? Where there helicopters deployed?

More importantly how was a man with a rapid fire rifle who was seen by attendees even allowed access to a rooftop near where Trump would be speaking? There are reports several bystanders warned the Secret Service agents but they took no immediate action, what’s up with that? How did something like that happen? One other attendee was killed, where was that person in relation to Trump? The attendees who were injured, where were they stationed and in what sequence were they shot?

There is so much footage of Trump being shot is being shown over and over, was there any footage of the shooter after he was “neutralized”? What happened to his body, where is it? The media people interviewed several bystanders and attendees how come no law enforcement people were present to give accounts of what took place and a time line of events?

Again it is early in the process but from my perspective I do not think best security practices were employed at that rally especially given the hostility and divisiveness of the campaigns and the hostile climate in this country today! There have been numerous verbal attacks on Trump and the campaign rhetoric from both sides has been vitriolic, nasty and mean. All of this is contributing to the acrimony incivility and discord which was already extremely intense.

The political climate in this country is so partisan and negatively charged that independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr was denied Secret Service protection for his campaign. That was an unprecedented move especially since violence is so ubiquitous in this country. This is all the more reason I feel something is fishy with the Trump shooting. This says a great deal about who we are as a nation and a people. Which way will the nation go now? How will this impact the campaign process? Time will tell.

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