Trump to make triumphant return to Butler after assassination attempt

He’s returning to the scene of the crime.Former President Trump is expected to make a triumphant return to Butler, PA, tonight, just months after he narrowly survived a would-be assassin’s bullet.

The U.S.Secret Service flooded the site this week after facing withering criticism that it was unprepared and understaffed during the July 13 stump speech-turned-assassination attempt that stunned the world.

Gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, managed to get off a shot at Trump from a sloped roof just 130 yards from the former president, nicking him in the ear and causing pandemonium before being killed by a Secret Service sniper.After the eight shots rang out, a bloodied Trump raised his fist and said “fight” as he was rushed off stage by agents.

The image has become iconic.The attack left a 50-year-old retired fire chief in the audience dead and two others severely injured.Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle resigned in July after facing bipartisan outrage over agency failures.In a damning admission to ABC, Cheatle said agents were not posted on the roof where Crooks took his shot because it was too “sloped,” creating an unacceptable “safety factor” for the agents.The Secret Service had also been aware of Crooks’ presence at the rally for more than an hour before Trump took the stage.

They frisked Crooks before the event and found him carrying a rangefinder, which is used by hunters to determine distances.They allowed Crooks to enter anyway.

A bipartisan report from the Senate Homeland Security Committee found that among other things the Secret Service “denied specific requests” for additional security resources at the event and that it “failed to effectively coordinate with state and local law enforcement.” The USSS counter-drone system was also “inoperable for hours” because of technical difficulties with no backup in place, according to the report.But on Friday, a drone was seen flying over the venue at the Butler Farm Show fairg...