One year after Butler assassination attempt, Secret Service bolsters security with drones, mobile command posts
Source: CBS News
Updated on: July 11, 2025 / 7:40 PM EDT
Laurel, Maryland It was almost one year ago that 20-year-old Thomas Crooks attempted to assassinate President Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, an incident which prompted several investigations into the U.S. Secret Service's actions and procedures on that day.
Prior to the shooting on July 13, 2024, Crooks flew his own commercial drone for 11 minutes above the Butler campaign rally site, but the Secret Service missed it. This week, CBS News was taken inside the Secret Service's James J. Rowley Training Center in Laurel, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C., to see the agency's newest eyes in the sky, a fleet of military-grade drones that reimagine aerial reconnaissance in a post-Butler era.
Matt Quinn, Secret Service deputy director, told CBS News he feels confident in the new technology. "Yes, we're in position now, to not just detect, but to mitigate unauthorized UAS (unmanned aircraft systems)," Quinn said. In Butler, local police warnings did not reach Secret Service counter-snipers because the agencies could not radio each other directly.
Along with the military-grade drones, the Secret Service also established a system of mobile command posts with price tags ranging from $600,000 to $1.5 million which allow agents to communicate over radio directly with local law enforcement, something that did not exist in Butler. "This is tremendous to be able to consolidate communications, make sure everyone's on the same page," Quinn said.
Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/secret-service-bolsters-security-drones-mobile-command-posts-after-butler-assassination-attempt-trump/

Response to BumRushDaShow (Original post)
Post removed
hueymahl
(2,818 posts)Lets leave that to maga.
twodogsbarking
(14,618 posts)The most difficult job would be trying to educate him.
mwmisses4289
(1,644 posts)believe the real target was the man who got killed, and krasnov was just in the way.
travelingthrulife
(2,944 posts)and hit that man. The pre-planned photo op at the podium carried on as planned. Kid dispatched.
These are NOT decent people.
mwmisses4289
(1,644 posts)PSPS
(14,747 posts)



Bernardo de La Paz
(57,269 posts)I bet you can't point to any respectable evidence, such as motive or connection, but feel free to try.
OldBaldy1701E
(8,466 posts)So, they are armed?
Great. I wonder if anyone will care when people start getting mowed down by police drones.
Oh yes, they can't arm police aircraft, can they?
(Yeah... watch them.)
RoseTrellis
(22 posts)Probably employing a link jamming technology, like has been implemented in Ukraine. The technology is relatively simple to stop control signal frequencies to these drones, as well as stop the video feed, without which the operator is literally flying blind so the cant give relevant control inputs. This technology is why fibre optic controlled drones are now widespread in Ukraine.
AFAIK, there are no hobby drones that have fiber optic links, so this frequency mitigation will be effective against the vast majority of current drone threats.
OldBaldy1701E
(8,466 posts)But since neither of us are allowed to actually hold one or stand next to one, since we are not privy to the design and creation of said drones (I mean, you may be able to do some or any of this, so my point may be moot), we have no idea what they are planning/doing.
I do have more than an idea about the administration that is doing this.
Are you really so sure that they are not armed with something 'offensive'?
(Also, I bet there will be more 'non-commercial' fiber optic drones now.)
tonekat
(2,293 posts)"It really was an assassination attempt!"
Yeah, sure, whatever.
ultralite001
(1,901 posts)The public outrage??? No "Warren Commission"??? No Congressional committees???
No Special Prosecutor???
No info on the perps... No media sleuthing... Little coverage on survivors... How many
attempts have there been now???
Preplanned, orchestrated reality TV to manipulate the masses + distract from the
general incompetence + cognitive decline of the "Perp-in-Chief" seems to be way
of this administration...
When is the drawing for the Golden Ticket???