PITTSBURGH — Channel 11 Chief Investigator Rick Earle spoke with Lt. Governor Austin Davis on Thursday about the security lapses that led to the fatal shooting at the Trump campaign rally in Butler and the attempted assignation of the former president.
Earle asked if the head of the Secret Service should step down.
“Clearly, there are a lot of questions about what happened Saturday. I don’t know the ins and outs of the Secret Service, so I can’t say whether that person should resign or not,” said Lt. Governor Austin Davis.
The Lt. Governor in Pittsburgh Thursday campaigned for Joe Biden and reacted to the shooting at the Trump rally in Butler last weekend.
While multiple congressional, federal and state investigations are underway to determine what led to the security failures, Davis defended the actions of Pennsylvania State Police.
Earle: Did State Police drop the ball here?
Davis: No, State Police did everything they were asked to do. I’m confident in Colonel Paris and his leadership to support the Secret Service and carry out the mission that they laid out.
State police have told 11 Investigates that they were assigned to help secure inside the perimeter, and were not responsible for the building the shooter accessed, which was outside the secure perimeter.
Serious questions have been raised about why that building and several others adjacent to the rally were not included in the secure perimeter.
While the Lt. Governor said he has questions about the security lapses, he also questioned the shooter’s access to an AR-style rifle and he called for action from lawmakers.
“I would call on leaders to make sure we take those weapons out of the hands, weapons of war off of our streets, and our communities. That happened to the president last weekend and those weapons are on the streets every day in communities like Pittsburgh and Philadelphia across the commonwealth and we need to make sure we are creating safer communities,” said Davis.
The Lt. Governor said Pennsylvania State Police will cooperate with any and all of the investigations into the security failures.
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