Secret Service Identified Gunman as Suspicious 1 Hour Before Shooting, Senator Says After Briefing

Congress was privately briefed on the assassination attempt on July 17.

Law enforcement agents stand near the stage of a campaign rally for Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pa., on July 13, 2024. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

WASHINGTON—The Secret Service told lawmakers on July 17 that the gunman was identified as being suspicious one hour before he opened fire on former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, according to Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) who was at the briefing.

“He had a range finder and a backpack. The Secret Service lost sight of him,” the senator said in a statement posted on X.