Secret Service continues to face questions as FBI investigates Trump shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks

One Trump super-fan from Texas has immortalized the moment former President Trump raised his fist in defiance after surviving an assassination attempt with a tattoo on his back.

Adrian West Jr. filmed the tattooed man in Austin after they met in line to get into a club on Saturday evening, according to Storyful.

“Donald Trump’s the f------ man — let’s go,” the man says in the video, turning around to show his fresh back tattoo of a bloodied Trump pumping his fist in the air with Secret Service agents surrounding him.

Trump said on Truth Social that he had been shot in the ear during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. 

The would-be assassin, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was shot and killed by Secret Service agents, but not before he managed to climb onto the roof of a nearby building and take a sniper's position in what should have been a secured perimeter. 

One attendee, Corey Comperatore, 50, a former fire chief of Buffalo Township, was killed, and two others – identified by Pennsylvania State Police as David Dutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74 – were injured during the incident.

The FBI is leading an investigation into the shooting, while the Department of Homeland Security has launched an independent review of the security at Trump's rally. 

Fox News Digital's Scott McDonald contributed to this update. 

A government watchdog has launched an investigation into the U.S. Secret Service's handling of security for former President Trump's rally in Pennsylvania, where Trump was shot in an assassination attempt. 

The Department of Homeland Security inspector general said Wednesday the objective of the probe is to “[e]valuate the United States Secret Service’s (Secret Service) process for securing former President Trump’s July 13, 2024 campaign event.”

There was no date given for when the investigation was launched. The notice was among a long list of ongoing cases that the inspector general’s office is pursuing.

President Biden announced earlier this week he had directed an independent review of security at Trump's rally.

The Secret Service faces heightened scrutiny after 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks managed to climb on top of a building and establish a line of sight to Trump about 130 yards away as the president spoke. The would-be assassin's bullets clipped Trump in his right ear and killed Corey Comperatore, 50, a former fire chief of Buffalo Township. Two other Trump rally attendees were injured. 

The FBI confirmed Crooks was shot dead by Secret Service agents. 

Fox News Digital's Scott McDonald and the Associated Press contributed to this update.

The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives will receive separate, all-member virtual briefings on the attempted assassination of former President Trump on Wednesday.

The Senate briefing will start at 3 p.m. ET. The House briefing will begin a half-an-hour later.

Secret Service Deputy Director Ronald Rowe and Deputy FBI Director Paul Abbate will lead the briefings. 

In addition, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer is expected to formally issue a subpoena for Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheadle. That would compel her testimony at a hearing on Monday.

The House Homeland Security Committee said this week it was also seeking more information on Saturday's events.

"The Committee has been in contact with the United States Secret Service and has just requested an official briefing for our members on the attempted assassination of President Trump this evening in Pennsylvania," the Homeland Security Committee said in a statement hours after the shooting. 

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has vowed to summon Cheatle "and other appropriate officials from DHS and the FBI" before the House to demand answers.

Fox News' Chad Pergram and Fox News Digital's Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this update.

Donald Trump Jr. had a surprising reaction Tuesday to reports that Iran plotted to have his father, former President Trump, assassinated, calling it "maybe the great political endorsement ever."

The eldest Trump son, who is a vocal surrogate for his father's campaign, made the comment in an interview on "Hannity" live from the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee just as the former president arrived donning a visible bandage on his right ear for the second night in a row.

"I think it’s sort of a great endorsement. When people like Iran want to take you out, that probably means it's good for America, bad for Iran," Trump Jr. said. "That may be the greatest political endorsement ever. But when that happens, their capabilities are much more than a kid with a rifle."

The Department of Homeland Security received intelligence from a human source on an Iranian plot to assassinate former President Trump, Fox News has been told by two federal law enforcement sources. CNN first reported that there has been an increase in Secret Service protection for Trump in recent weeks because of this intelligence. DHS and Secret Service have increasingly been concerned about Trump holding outdoor events, Fox News is told. 

The plot doesn't appear to be connected to Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, the gunman who shot Trump during his campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, over the weekend, the sources said.  Iran's Permanent Mission to the United Nations denied the allegations, calling them "unsubstantiated and malicious" in a statement to Fox News Digital. Trump directed the January 2020 strike that killed Lt. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the leader of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Forces.

Fox News Digital's Yael Halon contributed to this update.

The attempted assassination of President Trump shocked Americans on both sides of the aisle, with many seeing the close call as a time to reflect on the state of the nation and turn down the temperature of political rhetoric. 

Fox News Digital spoke to Americans in New York City, Detroit, Washington, D.C., and Milwaukee, about their reaction to what happened, the way Trump handled the moment while under fire and their predictions about what the failed assassination means for the country. 

Tom in Milwaukee told Fox News Digital that it is "really, really a sad thing" that the country has gotten to the point where somebody has to take a shot at the former president" and while he said he won't be voting for Trump in November, he was sorry to see it happen and would keep the former president in his prayers. 

"I hope that the Republicans have a great convention here," he said of the Republican National Convention taking place in Milwaukee this week. He also noted Trump had indicated he would be taking a softer tone in his political rhetoric, "which we should all follow." 

John from Milwaukee also described the weekend's assassination attempt by 20-year-old Pennsylvania native Thomas Matthew Crooks as a sad moment where violence came to fruition based on the way Trump has been discussed since 2015. 

"A lot of the rhetoric that has been pushed out there and some people are reacting to it," he said. "It is not surprising, but it is a sad moment."

"I thought he handled it well," he added of Trump's defiant reaction. "I have to give him credit for the wherewithal with the showmanship that he has and also that he wanted to let his supporters know that he was OK, but also taking advantage of the moment, to capitalize on the moment as well."

Luke from New York City described it as a "very sad" and "very tragic" situation that people in the country are acting out violently over politics. 

"It's absolutely terrible that our country is so divided," he said. "I'm not a Trump supporter, I'm not a Republican, I'm on the far, far left. But despite that, of course, violence is always terrible."

"Our country is in a terribly sad state," he added. "It's embarrassing to be an American right now, to be honest with you."

Fox News Digital's Kendall Tietz, Nikolas Lanum, Amanda Cappelli, Joshua Q. Nelson, Kira Mautone and Gabriel Hays contributed to this update.

David "Jake" Dutch is a Marine Corps veteran who served in Operation Desert Storm in 1991. (Facebook)

David "Jake" Dutch, one of the two victims critically wounded by gunshots at the Trump rally Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania, walked down the bleachers with a T-shirt bunched up against his wounds before getting help, friends told Fox News Digital.

Dutch, a Marine Corps veteran who served in Operation Desert Storm in 1991, was struck twice at the Trump rally — once in the stomach and once in the liver, according to those who know him at the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars lodges in Lower Burrell. 

"He's been a tremendous help to this club," VFW commander Lee Johnson told Fox News Digital. "He's involved with a couple different things we have here at the club. And I just feel so bad for David, his wife … great people. They've been members here for a long, long time."

Johnson added that all the members are wishing Dutch a speedy recovery.

The 57-year-old was apparently showing signs of responsiveness Tuesday, Johnson said, though he did not know the full extent of the Marine vet's recovery or condition.

Another VFW member described Dutch as a "wonderful man" who loved his country and loved former President Trump; it had been a dream of his for a long time to attend a rally, she said.

Other friends at the American Legion described Dutch, who works at Siemens Innomotics in the Pittsburgh area, as a quiet guy who was humble about his military service.

"If you didn't already know he was a Marine, you'd never know it," Roger Milliron Jr., who said he's known Dutch for 20 years, told Fox News Digital. "He isn't a loud or boisterous person. He keeps to himself. He is a hard worker. He's a friend."

Fox News Digital's Audrey Conklin contributed to this update.

Shocking cellphone video shows chaos at the Butler Farm Saturday after Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire on a Pennsylvania Trump rally, injuring the former president, killing one spectator and critically wounding two more.

The video shows ducking spectators flagging authorities for help after the gunfire stops.

"We've got someone down," a man can be heard shouting as he waves his arms. "Hey!"

The camera pans toward the stage, as Trump returns to his feet, flanked by Secret Service agents, and raises a fist.

Todd, the Army veteran who took the video and asked to be identified only as Todd the Driller, said he initially offered to bring his son to the rally but was concerned the crowd might be too boisterous.

He said he was relieved when the 9-year-old wanted to back out. But then both the boy and his 12-year-old daughter asked for Trump campaign hats, so he wound up attending alone.

Todd arrived early and called his kids on FaceTime from a row of vendors. They chose their hats. He bought them. Then he made his way toward the stage. 

The rally started late, he said, but by the time Trump arrived, he had a good vantage point near the north fence.

He had been taking pictures and videos to send his son, but when the gunfire erupted, his phone was in his pocket and he was listening to Trump's remarks. 

"I had no idea I was in the lane of fire between the shooter and President Trump, but when I heard the crack-crack-crack, I knew what that was," he said. "It was directly behind me, and bullets whizzed like maybe 20 feet to my left."

Todd, who is not a Democrat or a Conservative, said he's a two-issue voter. He's pro-life and, as an oil driller, he favors lawmakers who support the industry that puts food on his family's table.

Counter-snipers neutralized the threat, but not before Crooks, 20, killed a 50-year-old father of two named Corey Comperatore, critically wounded David Dutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74, according to authorities.

Todd whipped his phone out and recorded the president climbing back to his feet, surrounded by Secret Service agents.

But when he turned around to see what was going on behind him, what he saw shocked him. Members of the Secret Service and law enforcement inside the secure perimeter couldn't get out without jumping a fence – until a deputy eventually drove through it to let them out.

"The befuddled law enforcement that couldn’t do their jobs because no one had enough foresight to have that gate unlocked and have a guard posted there and control entrance to it," he said.

Fortunately, a Secret Service counter-sniper neutralized the gunman before other agents and law enforcement officers reached him on the roof.

Fox News Digital's Michael Ruiz contributed to this update.

The building where the Trump rally shooter was positioned, left, and snipers set up on a sloped roof behind former President Trump's podium at the event. ( Fox News Digital/Glen Van Tryfle/TMX/Reuters)

The director of the Secret Service is facing blistering criticism Tuesday after claiming during an interview that personnel were not positioned on top of the building where the Trump rally shooter opened fire because of a "sloped roof," despite images showing snipers set up on a sloped roof behind the former president’s podium. 

U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle made the remark during an interview with ABC News, in which she said the agency was aware of the security vulnerabilities presented by the building Thomas Matthew Crooks took a sniper's position on to aim at Trump. 

"That building in particular has a sloped roof at its highest point. And so, you know, there's a safety factor that would be considered there that we wouldn't want to put somebody up on a sloped roof. And so, you know, the decision was made to secure the building, from inside," she said.  

But critics on social media aren’t having it, calling Cheatle’s "sloped roof" comment a "total BS excuse" that "defies believability." 

"Our snipers used to set in on mountain tops in Afghanistan. On the down slopes if need be," former Army Ranger and author Sean Parnell wrote on X, calling Cheatle’s explanation a "total BS excuse." 

"The stupidity of this statement explains so much of why s--- hit the fan that day. Absolute incompetence," he added. 

"This sad excuse about defies believability. The snipers above President Trump were on a sloped roof so why couldn’t they secure the sloped roof that the assassin was on?" said Jim DeMint, a former U.S. senator from South Carolina. "She should have been fired days ago. We need accountability." 

 "Ironically, the snipers who were behind Trump during the rally were on a sloped roof," Trending Politics co-owner Collin Rugg also said on X. "She is bulls---ing and getting away with it." 

Fox News Digital's Greg Norman contributed to this update.

The Butler Township manager, Thomas Knights, defended local police officers' response to the assassination attempt against former President Trump at his rally on Saturday.

Knights' comments come amid some sparring between the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) and the Fraternal Order of Police as both federal and local law enforcement take criticism from the public for being unable to stop the would-be Trump assassin before he fired, though Knights says that tension has not "spilled over into" Butler.

"I think there's some misconception about overall response. I can only speak for our officers transitioning from what was supposed to be a primary traffic control assistance to where it became … a suspicious person," the township manager, who supervises all Butler department heads including the police chief, told Fox News Digital in an interview Tuesday. 

"I think our law enforcement did exactly what training taught them to do. … How subsequent events played out, that's another thing for what I hope to be a really complete report on the incident to educate everybody." 

Knights added that to his knowledge, the USSS has not been in "any direct communication" with Butler officials.

"There are ongoing interviews with all law enforcement that were at the event, regardless of what their roles were. So we're all just waiting on that information to be put together into one public report," he explained. 

Fox News Digital's Audrey Conklin contributed to this update.

A former classmate of would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks says the 20-year-old gunman once mocked him over his support of former President Donald Trump and had a general disdain for mainstream politicians across the political aisle.

"I brought up the fact that I'm Hispanic and, you know, I'm for Trump. And he said, 'Well, you're Hispanic, so shouldn't you hate Trump?'" Vincent Taormina told Fox News Digital Tuesday. "No. He's great. He was a great president. He called me stupid – or insinuated that I was stupid."

It happened during a discussion in an English class at Bethel Park High School during the 2016 campaign, he said. Trump, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders were all still in the race.

"He just did not like politicians, especially with the choices that we had," Taormina said. "He did not like our politicians."

Taormina that Crooks was usually quiet, except on certain topics that he seemed passionate about, including math and politics. And on those issues, he could be "smug [and] arrogant," he added.

"He would just talk, talk and act like he knew everything, especially politics related, and he would say it in a tone that was like, 'I'm better than you,' in a type of way," he said.

He also pushed back on reporting that Crooks was a complete loner. He had a friend group, he said, although it was both small and concerning.

"They were definitely the type, and they did, make threats to shoot up our school," he said.

Although he and other classmates suspected Crooks himself was behind a threat, he said he had no firm proof. But after the threat came in, the future would-be assassin didn't return to school for a few days.

Fox News Digital's Michael Ruiz contributed to this update.

Two neighbors of would-be Trump assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks dismissed the attention drawn to his political affiliation, saying the family appeared to never have campaign signs of any stripe in their Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, yard.

Amy, who spoke to reporters alongside Holly – a local GOP captain – attested that the media would be hard-pressed to find a neighbor who could vouch for any signs having been seen in the Crooks' yard.

"I give out the signs, and I've never given to that house, I'll tell you that," said Holly, who alluded to the fact Crooks was a registered Republican.

The shooting suspect also donated $15 to a progressive political action committee on the day of President Biden's inauguration.

"I walk by here all the time, other neighbors do," Amy added. "You will not find one neighbor that will confirm or ever say they saw those signs in the yard."

"I'm on a Republican committee here in Bethel Park," Holly said. "I'm a committee woman, and I door-knock everywhere: for [2022 U.S. Senate nominee Dr. Mehmet] Oz, for [2022 gubernatorial nominee State Sen. Doug] Mastriano, for Trump, for all of them," she said.

Holly said she had never door-knocked at the Crooks' home; campaigns and activists often have access to voter rolls with likely voters of respective parties.

"I know who the Republicans are. I mean, he's not on the list," she said.

Crooks' mother, Mary, is registered as a Democrat, while his father is registered as a libertarian.

Fox News Digital's Charles Creitz contributed to this update.

Two FBI investigators scan the roof of AGR International Inc, the building adjacent to the Butler Fairgrounds, from which alleged shooter Matthew Thomas Crooks fired at former President Donald J. Trump, in the aftermath of the attempted assassination at a campaign rally on July 14, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)

Dan Bongino, a political radio and TV commentator who was a Secret Service agent for more than 10 years, said the rooftop spot where Thomas Matthew Crooks tried to assassinate Donald Trump should have been occupied by law enforcement.

"According to my source, that roof was supposed to be a police post... [there] was so supposed to be someone there," Bongino said on Donald Trump Jr.’s podcast “Triggered” on Tuesday from the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

"They're now making up excuses saying the pitch of the roof. My source says to me that no one knows why the post didn't show up."

"I was also told that the USSS director has been given instructions from the administration and the DHS secretary: 'If you wanna keep your job, you'll keep your mouth shut about this.'"

Bongino told Trump Jr. that a person not showing up for their respective post “could have gotten your dad killed, within millimeters.”

The former president was shot in his upper right ear and a rallygoer was killed. Crooks was killed during a gunfire exchange.

Fox News Digital's Scott McDonald contributed to this update.

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said in an interview Tuesday that her agency was "solely responsible" for the implementation and execution of security at former President Trump's rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday.

Cheatle told CNN that no assets from the rally were diverted on the day Trump was shot, even though other events in the state required Secret Service protection.

“At that particular site, we divided up areas of responsibility, but the Secret Service is totally responsible for the design and implementation and the execution of the site,” Cheatle said. 

Previously, the Secret Service director told ABC News that local law enforcement was responsible for the building where 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks climbed onto the roof and fired a rifle at Trump, killing one spectator and injuring the Republican presidential candidate and two others. 

“What I was trying to stress was that we just divided up areas of responsibility, and they provided support to those areas of responsibility,” Cheatle said, adding that the Secret Service "couldn't do our job without" local law enforcement.