Watchdog faults Secret Service for missing 102 radio alerts at Trump rally

A government watchdog report found the U.S. Secret Service failed to receive 102 local radio transmissions about the gunman who opened fire at a 2024 Trump campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, because it did not establish a joint communications room with local authorities. The agency reportedly logged only five phone calls and three text messages and did not alert Trump’s protective detail. The shooter, Thomas Crooks, was killed by law enforcement after a nine‑minute drone flight over the venue, which went undetected in part because the counter‑drone system was inoperable and the operator under‑trained. The inspector general issued recommendations on information sharing and line‑of‑sight vulnerabilities, which the Secret Service says it has begun implementing.