Counter-Sniper at Butler Rally Confirms Something Isn't Right with Integrity of Trump Shooting Evidence

The public is increasingly skeptical about the circumstances surrounding the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, and now, an armed officer who was present at the rally is validating those concerns.

During a panel hosted by the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C., on Monday, Washington Regional SWAT counter-sniper Ben Shaffer acknowledged that several aspects of the shooting appear suspicious.

The panel, which included several lawmakers not part of the official House task force investigating the shooting, was convened to explore these suspicions further.

According to The Hill, Shaffer was one of three experts and witnesses brought before the investigative panel.

Joining Shaffer were former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino and former Navy SEAL Erik Prince. The panel itself was comprised of Republican Representatives Cory Mills of Florida, Eli Crane of Arizona, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Matt Gaetz of Florida, and Chip Roy of Texas.

Mills, who co-chaired the panel with Crane, emphasized that this hearing marked the beginning of an independent investigation into the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania.

“This is a message to all of Congress that if we are not selecting people based on meritocracy, that independent investigations such as this will continue to move forward, that there are members who are conservatives who will not be silenced,” Mills stated as the panel began.

Meanwhile, the official House task force—a bipartisan effort—visited the Butler shooting site on the same day as the independent panel’s discussions.

While the site was being examined, critical questions were raised in the nation's capital.

“Do you find it odd that literally only days after the attempted assassination on President Donald J. Trump, while the roof was too sloped to place individuals for counter-sniper operations, that it wasn’t too sloped of a roof for the FBI to go ahead and tamper, in my opinion, with evidence by washing the roof off that may have had significant evidence on it?” Mills asked Shaffer, as reported by the U.K.’s Daily Mail.

“Yes, I do,” Shaffer confirmed.

The preservation of the rooftop where rally shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks set up his firing position and later succumbed to gunfire is crucial, and the apparent disregard for maintaining this potential evidence is highly questionable.

Crooks fired eight rounds in just a few seconds, injuring Trump’s ear and killing rally attendee Corey Comperatore.

The attack ended when a shot disabled Crooks’ rifle, followed by another shot that killed him on the rooftop.

Another concerning issue is the handling of Crooks’ body and the rush to cremate it before an autopsy could be performed.

“Do you also find it odd,” Mills continued, “that the body of Matthew Crooks had not only been released and cremated, but the coroner who’s responsible for releasing the body had no knowledge of it?”

“Yes, absolutely,” Shaffer responded.

The cremation of Crooks’ body sparked major controversy, especially when Republican Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana attempted to inspect the corpse and discovered a startling fact.

“My effort to examine Crooks’ body on Monday, Aug. 5, caused quite a stir and revealed a disturbing fact … the FBI released the body for cremation 10 days after [July 13],” Higgins revealed in a report earlier this month.

Higgins serves on the official House task force.

During the Washington, D.C. panel, Erik Prince supported the assessment made by Republicans and Shaffer regarding the investigation, stating it “sounds like destruction of evidence.”