I focussed only on the ladder questions with this article, but a strong case can be made that Trump shouldn't have even been allowed to go onto stage with all the radio and spectator warnings that were coming in about this guy. Even once Trump walked onto the stage, there was plenty of time to get him off the stage once these warnings continued to be reported by so many people. The communications system must be the pits.
Here's an update, and it's big - looks like Blackrock is behind the whole thing. They also owned the building the would-be assassin used. Pfizer also involved:
Just read last night the Austin Wealth group has links to Blackrock. I'll keep an eye on this story, as I think there will be more coming out about this.
A 20-year old living with his parents and working as a food-handler in a local nursing home outsmarted The Secret Service of the United States government. That's super believable, right? I have a beach front property in Kansas for sale.
Someone, by now, could have told us why that 8-foot ladder was in this location (unattended) ... but sources or law enforcement haven't told us this reason yet. This tells me, they don't have an answer that they think will "sell" with the public.
My son just participated in a Special Olympics fundraiser at a local donut shop: Cop on a Rooftop.
Our local police department had a drone flying at that event to take publicity photos. Our local police department utilizes a drone to patrol municipal concerts, parades, carnivals, etc. drones are ubiquitous.
You have a rooftop with a known line-of-sight. (I'm willing to concede that the pitch of the roof was too scary to patrol). Why can't you keep a drone stationed over that roof?
How many sniper teams were assigned to Dr Jill that day? Were any of them diverted from the Trump rally? If they were pulled at the last minute, could that be when/why the roof was deemed too scary to patrol?
We are never going to know the truth. Representative government doesn't work unless there is trust between the government and governed. Even if this wasn't a conspiratorial deep state plot, there will be so much obfuscation in an effort for everyone to CYA and divert responsibility. Truly a sad, sad, sad development.
There is absolutely no way the pitch was too dangerous. Definitely a bs excuse for them. I used to be a steel roof installer and did a factory very similar to that. 4.76 degrees = 1/12 pitch. That’s as close to flat as you can get without being flat.
I have to wonder how anyone could bring in an 8 ft. ladder to the area, along with a RIFLE and yet Secret Service didn't notice this or find it suspicious? Doesn't EVERYONE bring in a rifle and an 8 ft. ladder when they go to hear Trump speak? There's a HUGE gaping hole in their story that I could drive a giant cruise ship through. GREAT article, Bill, with excellent points! Thank you for this, you're a true, old-fashioned genuine REPORTER who asks all the right questions!!!
The digital age isn’t helping the 3 letter agencies, they are used to telling us something happened in a certain way and the majority believing it to be true
One article I read claimed that there was supposed to be a local police sniper on that roof, but he did not come to work. That contradicts the Secret Service boss's claim that the roof was too steep for safety.
Also, nobody dies or is critically injured if one law enforcement officer was simply standing on that little building with the flat roof right above the ladder. This person wouldn't even have to go out onto the allegedly "unsafe" sloped roof. Or if one person was up in that water tower.
In your pictures, the building on the right- look at the entrance where there is a smaller roof covering the entrance. Look closely, to the right there is a short ladder on top of some type of units there that goes to the roof. Very exposed, which makes no sense, but still - there's a short ladder.
Elon Musk just made a post pointing that out. It does look like it could be a short ladder placed on top of some box-like structure. However, I don't think this would be an AC unit ... on the loading dock of a warehouse? Also, if this was the point of access, why wouldn't this info have come out in the previous five days?
Others have noted that there's "probably 20 ways" someone could get on the roof without a ladder. All the more reason to have someone on those roofs.
" It does look like it could be a short ladder placed on top of some box-like structure. However, I don't think this would be an AC unit ... on the loading dock of a warehouse?"
Very possibly. They just left a high-quality ladder where anyone could use it. As I note in my article, why didn't this counter sniper team (on stand-by) use said ladder once everyone said there was a shooter on the roof?
The air-conditioned counter-sniper explanation is the simplest, and the one we will receive after a though investigation. This is not because it provides plausible deniability, it's because it is true. I'm sure you understand, Comrade.
Seriously, though... Uvalde happened, and that's why I don't take the ladder as a slam dunk. Yes, some of this was certainly deliberate (thus the lack of protection for RFK and the bill to remove Trump's protection if convicted), but there is also idiocy, sloth, and cowardice involved.
It seems most likely that whoever left that ladder wasn't in on anything except for iced tea and air conditioning, and this asshole found it while wandering around with a range finder for a half hour before.
This was an attempted assassination by sending Trump in the car with a shitfaced Uber driver, not a John Wick thing. Yes, they are evil, but they are also stupid.
This^^^^^. Why doesn't a news reporter ask the glass company if the 8ft ladder is their ladder? I "ass"-ume the ladder is the glass company's ladder. It probably was leaned up on the building prior to the rally. The supposed "snipers" in the building missed the ladder, jus cuz. Like you said, the asshole found it while wandering around with a rifle for 30 minutes.
As you said, yes they are evil but they are also stupid.
I read this morning that shooter bought the ladder Sat. a.m. at Home Depot. Apparently he brought the ladder in with him when he arrived at the Trump rally. No one of course noticed this??
Per my research, his car was parked 1/3 a mile from the rally entrance - and probably at least a mile from where he ended up. So he would have had to carry this ladder a long way - with 30,000 people possibly seeing him do this.
I still wonder how he got where he did with his rifle. He also had a range finder. Reportedly, one of the counter-snipers made eye contact with him. The counter sniper was viewing him through is telescopic lens and Crooks was viewing the sniper with his range finder.
Reportedly, the counter sniper reported this - which would seem to be yet another reason to postpone the start of the event.
Too many "mistakes," Bill. To say this was sheer incompetence is like saying every security procedure just miraculously ended up being a "mistake," one instance after another. It's like winning the wrong kind of lottery. My favorite excuse was the head of the secret service saying the roof had a dangerous slope so she put her snipers inside the building. Then an untrained dweeb climbed up on top the same building and was able to get off eight rounds from only 130 yards away. Yeah, this was incompetence, SMH.
I've thought of this scenario. Crooks spends many minutes walking around all the buildings to try to find a place he can access the roof. While doing his reconnasaince work, he stumbles across an 8-foot ladder in perfect position to get to where he wants to get - very quickly.
You know I bet this is exactly what happened. I bet the kid said he was doing some roof or electrical work. Damn it was hot that day. Cops don't have the inclination to see why the kid needs to be climbing up on a hot tin roof.
Bill - But maybe there was NO ladder? I was surprised to find several vidios online and one was of a very articulate/believable man in a MAGA cap explaining to a BBC journalist that he observed someone "bear-crawling" up the side of the building, which he loudly pointed out to nearby men in uniform, who couldn't seem to see what he was seeing because of where they were standing and, also, the slope of the roof. In the following hours, that interview was quoted several times online but the picture itself seemed to disappear. It's likely someone can find it for you.
Great and key questions, Kevin. If the shooter was "working alone," he didn't have a whole lot of time to put his plan together. But, apparently, you don't need much detailed planning - if the security is so lax and incompetent - you can just show up four hours before the speech and figure out how to pull this off.
Who made these the decisions at the rally? If this was an honest investigation at least someone would be fired for incompetence. We need an investigative agency completely independent from the regime. Otherwise we’ll never know the true circumstances.
I just learned the rally was first publicized or announced to the public on July 3rd. So that's the earliest Crooks could have learned of this (if he was acting alone). Thus, he had about 10 days to put his plan together and do any prep work and study the layout. I still don't know if he'd know where the podium would have been set up, etc.
Maybe he bought the 5' ladder but then found that bigger one was already there. He is a math guy so it's surprising he thought he could reach the roof but maybe he had another plan to reach it with the smaller ladder.
I'm guessing the bigger ladder was there from some inspection. Maybe the local police went up and didn't give the secret service the info? Big mistake if it was left.
Or he realized the 5' ladder wasn't big enough and somehow snuck the big ladder over there. He somehow snuck his rifle there too. He kind of looks like some electrician-type of person. But it does seem like someone should have been more careful that day.
Regarding the scenario the ladder was placed there after the shooting, it seems like there would have been law enforcement officers sill in that area after they placed a ladder there. It's possible, someone quickly placed a ladder there ... and then left it there with no one around it, but that would seem odd to me.
Still, since there's been so much social media speculation about this ladder, it seems like officials would have released a statement telling the public who put that ladder there and when - and why nobody was seen in the vicinity of the ladder after they put it there.
All of these are great questions Bill, but to utter them publicly makes you a Conspiracy Theorist of the highest order. Keep posting! I'm walking with you step by step.
I focussed only on the ladder questions with this article, but a strong case can be made that Trump shouldn't have even been allowed to go onto stage with all the radio and spectator warnings that were coming in about this guy. Even once Trump walked onto the stage, there was plenty of time to get him off the stage once these warnings continued to be reported by so many people. The communications system must be the pits.
BTW, we're all conspiracy theorists now ... why wouldn't we be?
Bill: this is a HUGE bombshell you'll want to look into, very important! Be sure to read ALL the comments as well, lots of interesting info there:
https://www.igor-chudov.com/p/a-huge-financial-bet-against-donald
Thanks for the link. I read it. That is ... interesting.
Here's an update, and it's big - looks like Blackrock is behind the whole thing. They also owned the building the would-be assassin used. Pfizer also involved:
https://peterhalligan.substack.com/p/from-the-ycmtsu-files-building-that?publication_id=1032096&post_id=146794807&isFreemail=true&r=qwm2b&triedRedirect=true
Just read last night the Austin Wealth group has links to Blackrock. I'll keep an eye on this story, as I think there will be more coming out about this.
A 20-year old living with his parents and working as a food-handler in a local nursing home outsmarted The Secret Service of the United States government. That's super believable, right? I have a beach front property in Kansas for sale.
LMAO. That's the line the Secret Service and FBI want you to believe.
They truly think people are stupid. Sadly, many are.
Someone, by now, could have told us why that 8-foot ladder was in this location (unattended) ... but sources or law enforcement haven't told us this reason yet. This tells me, they don't have an answer that they think will "sell" with the public.
I don't think they have any answers they think can sell to the public. By the way, great article. Thanks for your diligence.
Thanks, Blair. I just thought the "ladder questions" were worth a stand-alone story just on this topic.
My son just participated in a Special Olympics fundraiser at a local donut shop: Cop on a Rooftop.
Our local police department had a drone flying at that event to take publicity photos. Our local police department utilizes a drone to patrol municipal concerts, parades, carnivals, etc. drones are ubiquitous.
You have a rooftop with a known line-of-sight. (I'm willing to concede that the pitch of the roof was too scary to patrol). Why can't you keep a drone stationed over that roof?
How many sniper teams were assigned to Dr Jill that day? Were any of them diverted from the Trump rally? If they were pulled at the last minute, could that be when/why the roof was deemed too scary to patrol?
We are never going to know the truth. Representative government doesn't work unless there is trust between the government and governed. Even if this wasn't a conspiratorial deep state plot, there will be so much obfuscation in an effort for everyone to CYA and divert responsibility. Truly a sad, sad, sad development.
There is absolutely no way the pitch was too dangerous. Definitely a bs excuse for them. I used to be a steel roof installer and did a factory very similar to that. 4.76 degrees = 1/12 pitch. That’s as close to flat as you can get without being flat.
I have to wonder how anyone could bring in an 8 ft. ladder to the area, along with a RIFLE and yet Secret Service didn't notice this or find it suspicious? Doesn't EVERYONE bring in a rifle and an 8 ft. ladder when they go to hear Trump speak? There's a HUGE gaping hole in their story that I could drive a giant cruise ship through. GREAT article, Bill, with excellent points! Thank you for this, you're a true, old-fashioned genuine REPORTER who asks all the right questions!!!
The digital age isn’t helping the 3 letter agencies, they are used to telling us something happened in a certain way and the majority believing it to be true
One article I read claimed that there was supposed to be a local police sniper on that roof, but he did not come to work. That contradicts the Secret Service boss's claim that the roof was too steep for safety.
I saw an interview where Bogino (?), the former Secret Service agent who now has a podcast show, said that.
I think we can all agree; someone should have been on that roof.
Excellent point!
It was probably there for a counter sniper team that didn't use it.
Also, nobody dies or is critically injured if one law enforcement officer was simply standing on that little building with the flat roof right above the ladder. This person wouldn't even have to go out onto the allegedly "unsafe" sloped roof. Or if one person was up in that water tower.
In your pictures, the building on the right- look at the entrance where there is a smaller roof covering the entrance. Look closely, to the right there is a short ladder on top of some type of units there that goes to the roof. Very exposed, which makes no sense, but still - there's a short ladder.
Elon Musk just made a post pointing that out. It does look like it could be a short ladder placed on top of some box-like structure. However, I don't think this would be an AC unit ... on the loading dock of a warehouse? Also, if this was the point of access, why wouldn't this info have come out in the previous five days?
Others have noted that there's "probably 20 ways" someone could get on the roof without a ladder. All the more reason to have someone on those roofs.
" It does look like it could be a short ladder placed on top of some box-like structure. However, I don't think this would be an AC unit ... on the loading dock of a warehouse?"
It is a TUFF shed
Never heard of that. What's its purpose?
Which photo? I can’t see it… I will check on X2
Very possibly. They just left a high-quality ladder where anyone could use it. As I note in my article, why didn't this counter sniper team (on stand-by) use said ladder once everyone said there was a shooter on the roof?
The air-conditioned counter-sniper explanation is the simplest, and the one we will receive after a though investigation. This is not because it provides plausible deniability, it's because it is true. I'm sure you understand, Comrade.
Seriously, though... Uvalde happened, and that's why I don't take the ladder as a slam dunk. Yes, some of this was certainly deliberate (thus the lack of protection for RFK and the bill to remove Trump's protection if convicted), but there is also idiocy, sloth, and cowardice involved.
It seems most likely that whoever left that ladder wasn't in on anything except for iced tea and air conditioning, and this asshole found it while wandering around with a range finder for a half hour before.
This was an attempted assassination by sending Trump in the car with a shitfaced Uber driver, not a John Wick thing. Yes, they are evil, but they are also stupid.
This^^^^^. Why doesn't a news reporter ask the glass company if the 8ft ladder is their ladder? I "ass"-ume the ladder is the glass company's ladder. It probably was leaned up on the building prior to the rally. The supposed "snipers" in the building missed the ladder, jus cuz. Like you said, the asshole found it while wandering around with a rifle for 30 minutes.
As you said, yes they are evil but they are also stupid.
I read this morning that shooter bought the ladder Sat. a.m. at Home Depot. Apparently he brought the ladder in with him when he arrived at the Trump rally. No one of course noticed this??
Per my research, his car was parked 1/3 a mile from the rally entrance - and probably at least a mile from where he ended up. So he would have had to carry this ladder a long way - with 30,000 people possibly seeing him do this.
I still wonder how he got where he did with his rifle. He also had a range finder. Reportedly, one of the counter-snipers made eye contact with him. The counter sniper was viewing him through is telescopic lens and Crooks was viewing the sniper with his range finder.
Reportedly, the counter sniper reported this - which would seem to be yet another reason to postpone the start of the event.
Too many "mistakes," Bill. To say this was sheer incompetence is like saying every security procedure just miraculously ended up being a "mistake," one instance after another. It's like winning the wrong kind of lottery. My favorite excuse was the head of the secret service saying the roof had a dangerous slope so she put her snipers inside the building. Then an untrained dweeb climbed up on top the same building and was able to get off eight rounds from only 130 yards away. Yeah, this was incompetence, SMH.
Kid to cops in building: "Hey, do you guys have a ladder I can borrow?"
Cops: "Its right over there..."
Kid: "Gee...Thanks mister!!"
I've thought of this scenario. Crooks spends many minutes walking around all the buildings to try to find a place he can access the roof. While doing his reconnasaince work, he stumbles across an 8-foot ladder in perfect position to get to where he wants to get - very quickly.
"Damn, he says. "Good luck for me."
And nobody is guarding said ladder.
You know I bet this is exactly what happened. I bet the kid said he was doing some roof or electrical work. Damn it was hot that day. Cops don't have the inclination to see why the kid needs to be climbing up on a hot tin roof.
Bill - But maybe there was NO ladder? I was surprised to find several vidios online and one was of a very articulate/believable man in a MAGA cap explaining to a BBC journalist that he observed someone "bear-crawling" up the side of the building, which he loudly pointed out to nearby men in uniform, who couldn't seem to see what he was seeing because of where they were standing and, also, the slope of the roof. In the following hours, that interview was quoted several times online but the picture itself seemed to disappear. It's likely someone can find it for you.
My recollection was that he said “bear-crawling ON” the roof, not up it.
I remember reading that too. It was early on, one of the first reports IIRC.
Greg Smith? The man with the “Trump hair” MAGA hat and the 2020 changed to 2024?
Other critical questions I have not seen anyone discuss.
1) when was the event planned?
2) when was the layout of the event finalized?
3) when was the event plans and schedule told to the Secret Service?
4) when was the event and schedule announced to the general public?
Great and key questions, Kevin. If the shooter was "working alone," he didn't have a whole lot of time to put his plan together. But, apparently, you don't need much detailed planning - if the security is so lax and incompetent - you can just show up four hours before the speech and figure out how to pull this off.
Who made these the decisions at the rally? If this was an honest investigation at least someone would be fired for incompetence. We need an investigative agency completely independent from the regime. Otherwise we’ll never know the true circumstances.
.
First things first:
Who determined the layout for the event and the placement for the stage?
.
This could be known if anyone wanted to. We could also find out who decided not to cover the roof.
I just learned the rally was first publicized or announced to the public on July 3rd. So that's the earliest Crooks could have learned of this (if he was acting alone). Thus, he had about 10 days to put his plan together and do any prep work and study the layout. I still don't know if he'd know where the podium would have been set up, etc.
No. The salient point has nothing to do with what he knew whatsoever.
Forget him, for now.
The question is: Who was responsible for orchestrating the event, and for determining the location and placement of the stage ?
With the existing buildings as a given, who determined that stage placement?
Maybe he bought the 5' ladder but then found that bigger one was already there. He is a math guy so it's surprising he thought he could reach the roof but maybe he had another plan to reach it with the smaller ladder.
I'm guessing the bigger ladder was there from some inspection. Maybe the local police went up and didn't give the secret service the info? Big mistake if it was left.
Or he realized the 5' ladder wasn't big enough and somehow snuck the big ladder over there. He somehow snuck his rifle there too. He kind of looks like some electrician-type of person. But it does seem like someone should have been more careful that day.
Stuff random commenters have said about the ladder issue:
A five foot ladder was placed atop an air conditioner for roof access;
There is no such thing as a five foot ladder—they are 6’, 8’, 10’, etc.;
The tall ladder was placed by LEOs after the shooting in order to investigate.
Regarding the scenario the ladder was placed there after the shooting, it seems like there would have been law enforcement officers sill in that area after they placed a ladder there. It's possible, someone quickly placed a ladder there ... and then left it there with no one around it, but that would seem odd to me.
Still, since there's been so much social media speculation about this ladder, it seems like officials would have released a statement telling the public who put that ladder there and when - and why nobody was seen in the vicinity of the ladder after they put it there.
And Christopher stated before Congress that no ladder was found at the scene. (Insert emoji for listener tearing her own hair out here.)
There are 5 foot ladders in every lumberyard in america for sale.
I was repeating the comments that are out there, not necessarily agreeing with them, and trying to point out the inconsistencies.
All of these are great questions Bill, but to utter them publicly makes you a Conspiracy Theorist of the highest order. Keep posting! I'm walking with you step by step.
Thanks, Jeffrey. Everyone check out Jeffrey's Substack. You'll enjoy his quick and always-interesting reads.
Elon posted this:https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1813595907042210115?s=46