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Preparations were in full swing for former President Donald Trump’s rally at the Butler Farm Show grounds when Mitchel Delullo pulled up with two giant cranes.

As he hoisted a massive U.S. flag, the rental equipment provider and Trump supporter felt proud to be a part of something bigger than himself. The event ended up being big in a way he never could have imagined. 

The next day, Mr. Delullo was in the crowd behind Mr. Trump when shots rang out.

Why We Wrote This

Security lapses that enabled the July 13 shooting of former President Donald Trump are raising larger questions about Secret Service protection – prompting bipartisan calls today for the director’s resignation.

What followed nearly altered the course of a historic election season. The July 13 shooting – which injured Mr. Trump’s ear, killed a former fire chief, and put two other rallygoers in the hospital – has also let loose an avalanche of finger-pointing and recriminations.

On Monday, Congress held its first hearing to try to piece together how a lone shooter got so close to assassinating a former president under protection by the Secret Service. The egregious lapse, which resulted in the first shooting of a current or former president in more than 40 years, has left even eyewitnesses incredulous.

“I was there, and I’m still trying to figure out the truth,” Mr. Delullo says. “A 20-year-old kid with no military experience was able to outsmart one of the smartest teams in the world.”

The Butler Farm Show, site of a campaign rally for former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, is seen July 15, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump was wounded on July 13 during an assassination attempt while speaking at the rally.

The shooter positioned himself on an unpatrolled roof within easy rifle range of the stage where Mr. Trump would appear. The roof, despite offering a high vantage point and clear line of sight to the stage, was deemed outside the security perimeter of the event. According to Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, the shooter was about 200 yards away from the former president. Yet his AR-15, a weapon commonly used in U.S. mass shootings over the past 15 years, had a range of 400 to 600 meters. 

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