Iranian threat prompted increased security at Trump rally, reports say

U.S. national security officials said the shooter who allegedly tried to assassinate former President Donald Trump was not connected to any foreign accomplices, according to an Associated Press report on Tuesday, citing National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson. Twenty-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks on Saturday fired several shots at Trump while the former president was on stage at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa.

Crooks, who was firing from a nearby rooftop, killed a rally attendee, seriously injured two more, and grazed the former president’s right ear. A Secret Service agent killed Crooks shortly after he opened fire on Trump.

Why does this Iranian threat matter, if it wasn’t connected to Crooks? The U.S. Secret Service had increased the size of Trump’s personal security detail shortly before the attack, according to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Even so, the extra security failed to prevent Crooks from getting into position and firing on Trump. U.S. officials believe the unrelated threat from Iran arises out of a desire for revenge for the death of Qassem Soleimani, the Associated Press reported, citing Watson.

Are government agencies looking into why the increased security failed to prevent the assassination attempt? President Joe Biden over the weekend promised an independent review into the shooting. The Secret Service will fully cooperate with that investigation, Director Kimberly Cheatle said on Monday. Cheatle also promised to cooperate with Congress on any oversight actions the legislative branch decided to take. The Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general is also investigating the Secret Service, according to the Associated Press.

Dig deeper: Read Leo Briceno’s report in The Stew about whether the Secret Service could have stopped the attempt on Trump’s life ahead of time.