14 July 2024

By Michael Molenda with assistance from Josh Schein

The harrowing assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks—who fired shots that also resulted in the death of Corey Comperatore and serious injuries to two others—begs the question: Where were the drones?

It's a difficult query to answer, because, at press time, there was no data regarding drones being used to recon the area of Trump's Pennsylvania rally. Perhaps the Secret Service likes to keep such matters under wraps. Perhaps "covert" drone footage actually did discover the position of Crooks within seconds of his shots and directed Secret Service sharpshooters to take him down before others were injured or killed.

Whether given credit or not, we'd like to think drones were in the air surveying the crowd during Trump's speech.

Otherwise, it appears to be a colossal missed opportunity for the Secret Service to protect not only the presumptive Republican nominee for the upcoming presidential race, but any important government official. 

Current data points to local Butler Township police being alerted to a "suspicious person." The officers walked the perimeter and used their eyes to seek out the shooter's position.

Unfortunately, a drone in the air—operated by a trained Secret Service threat team—may have been able to identify and neutralize Crooks before a shot was fired.

We'll share updates on this story as they emerge.