Inside Job? Suspicious Shooting at Trump’s Butler Rally
As the investigation into what went on at Trump’s Butler, Pennsylvania rally progresses, one question that should be on everyone’s mind is, “Was this shooting was an inside job?” There are too many suspect things involving this shooting, least of all the 20 year old suspect.
Disclaimer: This article is intended to be speculative in its nature and in handling this sensitive topic as this situation is still unfolding. Not all information is yet available. This article is not intended to accuse or defame any individual person or entity stated. This article is only intended to ask the pertinent questions that need to be asked based on what we know so far.
Let’s explore.
What happened?
Trump, as he does on the campaign trail, was holding a political rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13th. Trump was at the microphone at the time speaking. Several shots rang out and Trump’s ear was allegedly grazed by a bullet along with a bullet striking and killing one rally attendee.
Secret Service then stepped in to protect the former President by attempting to hold him down. Before that happened, he defiantly raised a fist, displaying his bloody ear.
Election and All Stops
Trump will pretty much stop at nothing to secure the Presidency. He’s already made that abundantly clear with the January 6th event using his failed attempt at halting the counting of the state electoral vote. Then, as a part of that, setting up and fomenting a violent riot that followed at the Capital.
The question then remains, “Was the shooting at Trump’s Butler, Pennsylvania rally an inside job?” Let’s see if we can at least understand better why this is even a question.
Inside Job?
Again, this is a speculative article in its nature. It’s not intending to accuse anyone. It is intended solely to ask questions. Let’s get right to the meat of this article. There are so many suspicious activities involving this Butler, Pennsylvania Trump shooting that we need to understand them all. Let’s make a bulleted list:
- The CIA and FBI are primo at sniffing out early notifications of possible mass shootings. Yet, they missed this one? No social media ramblings at all?
- The Secret Service didn’t scope out the crowd in advance or even during the event?
- The Secret Service didn’t wand or otherwise run the crowd through metal detectors?
- The Secret Service seemingly didn’t have close building rooftops covered to prevent someone from taking pot shots at Donald Trump or the crowd? Hmm…
- The Secret Service was able to neutralize the shooter in seconds? Even more, hmm…
- Donald Trump fist pumps for the camera with a bleeding ear after a supposed gunshot. Yeah, that’s a big hmm…
- That a 20 year old is able to circumvent Secret Service’s security measures? Okay, hmmm.
- Donald Trump’s sends up a defiant fist while Secret Service is attempting to secure him. Uh, nokay.
- Let’s label this what this really is, another a mass shooting.
Let’s break this all down. Neither the CIA nor the FBI had any advanced notice of a possible shooter at this rally? That’s suspect. It’s like no one said anything prior to the rally. I find it difficult to believe that a 20 year old doesn’t have a social media presence, let alone have potential discussions about what went on. Alone, this one miss isn’t a problem if other safeguards catch a would-be assailant. They didn’t.
It’s unclear if the Secret Service was able to properly vet the entire crowd through Magnetometers or by wand device, but it seems that at least one person slipped through that process. The question then is, what happened here? How did this happen? Did this assailant remain far enough away from the event to not need to be vetted by Secret Service?
The building where the shooter camped was not too far from the rally site to fire a weapon reliably, but also it was also not too close to be detected, apparently. I’m guessing that because of this distance, the Secret Service didn’t require vetting people at this distance? Really? Below is the alleged building involved where the suspected 20 year old shooter allegedly camped.
Unfortunately, there is yet another metric that supports that this may have been an inside job. It seems highly unlikely that this building wouldn’t have been fully secured (even the rooftop) in advance of the rally by the Secret Service, including either having SS staff on the rooftop or at least standing outside of this building location to prevent trespassing.
Clearly, at least according to various news media reports, the shooter was neutralized moments (seconds?) after the shots rang out by a Secret Service agent, with one of the suspect’s earlier shots allegedly grazing Trump’s ear while killing a rally participant.
Suspicious
This whole building security situation is highly suspicious. How did a shooter manage to get on top of a building that should have been fully secured by the Secret Service? That either means that Secret Service was not securing that building properly or, this is an even worse thought, that Secret Service ignored the individual as they traversed onto the rooftop with their weapons.
Yet, clearly the Secret Service was able to neutralize this rooftop target in moments after the shots rang out? Secret Service apparently had that rooftop covered as it has been reported that a Secret Service sniper was able to locate, take aim and shoot at the assailant all within a matter of seconds. All of this action by the Secret Service implies that this building was, indeed, being fully covered by Secret Service protection. Yet, a 20 year old shooter can manage to get past that security, pull out a weapon, take a position on the roof and begin firing shots… all without being detected? Yeah, this author is not buying that idea.
The question remains, how would such a shooter manage to get past Secret Service and traverse onto a rooftop of a building that was apparently so well secured? Yes, this is A really big and suspicious question.
Inside Job Part II
As we delve into all of the above, we come to realize that either the Secret Service was highly inept at performing their security responsibilities (doubtful) or that this was an inside job.
Donald Trump and all of his closest confidants, particularly the ones participating in the rally, would likely have known of the Secret Service’s plans (or at least many of them) to secure the rally site. Information that could potentially “leak”.
If the rooftop building was so well covered so as to neutralize the target in moments, it’s inconceivable that a random person could randomly and with extreme luck happen upon a Secret Service blind spot to infiltrate and make their way onto the rooftop all without being seen or, more importantly, heard by Secret Service. Again, either Secret Service was ignoring this situation or it seems likely that something else was going on here. It’s all too suspicious and this author is not buying it.
Why not a Lone Wolf Shooter?
For a person to cart a weapons bag onto a rooftop that is being actively secured by Secret Service and not be seen or heard doing this is infinitesimally small. By infinitesimally, I mean the chances are next to zero. Clearly, if Secret Service were able to neutralize this shooter as rapidly as they did, the Secret Service had coverage on or near the building involved. Having that level of coverage implies that the shooter may have had help to get around the Secret Service detail.
This means that the shooter would have needed to get help to find a blind spot in Secret Service coverage, a blind spot that only an inside person would know. That means that the shooter may have been fed this information prior to traversing onto the rooftop, which allowed that person to avoid being detected by Secret Service, arm up and then take the shots.
Fist Defiance
One highly suspect issue during this whole event is Trump’s behavior immediately following the shot where he realized a bullet had allegedly struck him. Instead of going into panic mode as one might do, he decided to stand up with a fist in the air for a photo opportunity. It’s almost like Trump knew that the threat was over, somehow. That’s not a normal behavior after having been shot and nearly assassinated. Instead, he should have wanted to leave the rally as quickly as possible to secure the safety of his person. Instead, he seemed willing to defy his Secret Service detail as they attempted to pull him to safety.
Seriously, who thinks about photo opportunities when someone is shooting a weapon in your general direction?
Trump involved?
This is a question, not an accusation. We already know that Trump is not avert in taking drastic and unusual steps to make a point and in his attempt to win and/or hold the Presidency. Just look at January 6th as an example. Disclaimer: this is question that must be asked. It is not intended to accuse.
Democrat Involvement?
Clearly, Trump’s sycophant Republicans are going to play the lone-wolf must-be-a-Democrat card, even though it has been confirmed that the now deceased 20 year old shooter was a registered Republican. It also seems like almost every time something happens involving Trump, it is inevitably Trump who had a hand in its outcome. Yet, Trump (and his sycophants) will inevitably and hypocritically blame it all on the Democrats in one breath, while calling for unity in another. Because of all of the suspicious goings on involving this shooting, the entire situation does seem highly suspicious and dubious.
Trump’s Repeated Calls for Violence
Trump has repeatedly used veiled words and rhetoric to call his “troops” into action. What troops you ask? Well, obviously troops like the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers and other Republicans. Trump is willing to and understands that through various broad rhetoric, it will call “his” troops into action. His veiled words tell these various groups to do things up to and including performing violence when necessary. Again, look at January 6th as a prime example. It’s not the only example (e.g., NY trial), though.
As a person with the amount of public sway that Donald Trump holds, his seemingly innocent words are put into sometimes threatening and violent actions by his followers. Just look at the rhetoric that Trump used against various judges and various court staff and what ultimately resulted onto those people after Trump’s words were unleashed. His words even went so far as to force a judge to issue a gag order against Trump during his New York Trial. Rudy Giuliani, one of Trump’s biggest hired sycophant lackeys at the time of Trump’s Presidency, was even sued and lost a defamation suit against election workers as he spread many lies about those workers involving the 2020 election; lies that fomented negative action towards these workers by Trump followers. Rudy Giuliani has even been disbarred as a lawyer over his 2020 election lies.
While what Rudy Giuliani said didn’t personally result in threats and violence against those people, at least not by Giuliani’s own hand, it did foment many, many uncomfortable situations for these election workers by others from within Trump’s “troop” camp; well-meaning workers who were simply hired to do a job during an election. Fomenting these kinds of unchecked threats and violence against others is clearly something Trump (and his lawyers) shouldn’t be doing. And yet, perhaps one third to one half of the nation want to reelect this man?
Fomenting violence, regardless of how veiled the rhetoric may be, is still fomenting violence. It’s no wonder that eventually Trump’s own veiled words would turn back around on him. Trump likely knew that this would be an eventuality. Based on all of the suspicious goings on above, it seems more likely that what occurred may have been an inside job, taken as a step to quell that violence by potentially doing it as an inside job; one that looks like it isn’t? We just don’t know.
Unfortunately, one rally goer died as a result.
Is Trump, the Secret Service or his inner circle involved?
There’s no way to know, yet. But, this question must be asked and answered. This situation is still unfolding and we don’t yet have all of the details. This article is written solely using logical speculation based on the details known at the moment of this article and it is based solely on the logical deduction around these rather dubious situations so far. This article is not intended to accuse anyone. It is simply here to ask pertinent questions. After all, even as infinitesimal as it is, a 20 year old lone-wolf shooter managed to slip through Secret Service’s grasp and gain access to an unsecured rooftop to take shots at Trump? It’s not likely he did this without help.
Is it possible it could be done? Yes. Is it probable? No.
Secret Service is way too meticulous in planning its security details involving the former President. Either the Secret Service lapsed in its responsibilities for security at this rally or this was an inside job designed to circumvent the Secret Service.
Unfortunately, even if it was an inside job, the Government will likely squash all evidence of that to make it seem like it was strictly a lone-wolf operation. Only time will tell if the Government will be honest with us over what really happened.
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Job Hunting? Don’t be scammed.
As the economy is floundering and unemployment rates remain high, there are those people and companies who look to take advantage of job seekers. Some companies are legitimate, others aren’t so much. So, let’s investigate some ways you can avoid being taken during your job hunt.
Pay to play
Be extremely wary of so-called for-pay outplacement, consulting or career management companies that require up-front payments before you get a job. These companies will sometimes promise they will find you a job, but in the end you literally end up doing all of the work and you’ve paid them to let you do your own work! In fact, it’s work that you would have done without paying them anything! These companies may operate by taking a percentage of your expected salary. For example, if the job you are seeking has a $60,000 a year salary, they may expect $6,000 (10%) as your up-front fee.
Don’t be fooled by this practice. Yes, they may give you career advice or even write you a new resume, but is a new resume and some career counseling worth $6,000? You will find many resume creation sites (and software) on the Internet to makeover your resume that costs much less than $6,000.
These outplacement companies may also claim that they have ‘databases’ of jobs. The reality is that their database may be months old or non-existent. So, even though they have a database, what good does it do to apply for a job that was listed 6 months earlier? It doesn’t do any good and is definitely not worth $6,000.
Recruiters
While recruiting companies are not necessarily scams (although, the possibility always exists), most of them feel very slimy when you work with them. So, be cautious and here’s why. Recruiting firms supposedly have job databases and find candidates that fit various job roles. Unfortunately, the recruiting agents work on quotas. So, they must close a certain number of jobs over a period of time in order to 1) get their commission and 2) remain employed as a recruiter. After all, the commission from the candidate’s placement is what keeps the recruiting company in business. A recruiting position is both a sales position (has sales quotas to meet) and as a recruiter (help you find a job). Unfortunately, there’s just a little too much conflict of interest with recruiters. The trouble comes because the employer pays the percentage fee after candidate placement is complete. So, while it may appear that they are helping you, the candidate, they are really more partial to the employer because that’s where their bread is truly buttered. When unemployment is high, they can find many candidates, but they only have that one position open.
So, the recruiter will do everything to keep the employer happy and, in most cases, couldn’t care less about the job seeker other than to get them placed. After all, there’s plenty of job seekers from which to choose. That said, they will definitely appear to care about the candidate so long as the hiring company still takes an interest in the candidate. Once the hiring company no longer expresses interest in the candidate or fills the job, that’s when the recruiter calls stop, emails stop and you can no longer reach the recruiter at all.
One other tactic of recruiters is to obtain resumes. So, if you had an old resume on file at a recruiting firm, expect to be called periodically to update your resume. The recruiter who calls you may even imply there may be jobs open with your skill set. In many cases, you are just feeding their database with another resume. In fact, they very likely had no job opening. Again, the recruiters have their job performance tied to doing work. Having spoken with you and obtained your updated resume probably suffices for one in their quota. Be wary of this practice. You’re helping them keep their job, but they may have no intention of helping you at all. They’re just stringing you along.
One other recruiting tactic to watch for is the phantom job tactic. The recruiter will claim to officially represent the hiring company. They tell you a job is open and that they are requesting a resume to submit. They will even put up a front and tell you they have submitted your resume for the position. Then, you never hear back from them. Why? Because they lied. They had no position open. They didn’t have any official status to represent the hiring company. So, how does this happen? Again, this is a quota issue. They need to make quotas, so the recruiter will string you along hoping the hiring company will agree to use the recruiting firm and then pay the commission. Unfortunately, the recruiting firm has not officially contacted the company until after they had your resume in hand. The trouble is, they didn’t have the company’s permission nor blessing. So, the recruiter contacts the company and the company says, “We don’t work with recruiters, sorry”. End of discussion.. no more contact. There is no way to really ensure the legitimacy of what a recruiter tells you. But, it certainly is a waste of time.
In the case of a recruiter, you necessarily won’t be out any money, but it can certainly take away valuable time that you could otherwise be seeking direct opportunities, submitting resumes or even updating your resume. It’s easy to get bogged down in recruiter time suck activities. So, be wary when recruiters come knocking.
Craigslist and Classified ads
While classified boards like Craigslist are great places to find job opportunities, it’s also a place to get scammed. So, if you choose to look for jobs in classified ads, make sure that you verify the company you are contacting. That means, check the phone book or the Internet to ensure that the phone numbers and addresses actually match the hiring company’s office address. You don’t want to end up in some seedy dive on a fake interview or being taken for some amount of money. If any money is involved before you get a job, walk away. There are way too many sites that can help you find jobs without fees.
Fee Based Job Boards
Some well known web employment listing sites charge subscription fees to help you find jobs. While I understand this web business model, the job seeker is most probably out of a job when seeking new employment. So, while paying monthly subscription fees might seem worthwhile, you may end up having no better luck in finding a job than using free services like Hotjobs, Dice or Monster. So, be cautious when asked to supply a credit card number to get access to a bigger database or get access to employment ‘review’ services. If you want to spend money, that’s up to you, but I’d recommend exhausting all other free avenues (and believe me, there are plenty) long before you throw your money away on for-pay job boards.
If you are months into your search and still have no leads after trying all of the free sites, then and only then would I try a for-pay job board. Some of these boards offer one month subscription periods. I’d recommend trying these job boards by paying for only one month and see how well it works for you. One month should be well long enough to dig through their database, submit resumes and see if you get any nibbles. You may find that it does nothing. Also, make sure that after the one month payment ends there are no recurring subscriptions still active. You don’t want to get any surprise fees on your credit card statement the next month.
Avoid the scams
If something looks too good to be true, it probably is. When seeking a job, you want to avoid being scammed out of whatever money you have… especially when unemployed. So, be cautious if a web site asks you to load a credit card number into their registration page. In short, don’t do it. If they require a credit card number to sign you up, skip that site and move on. If you do decide to part with your credit card number to get access, be sure to fully read all of the sites disclosures to understand how they charge for their services. If you can’t find how they charge for services, skip the site.
Good luck in your job search.
Recruiting: Job seeker’s friend or foe?
I have been successfully placed by a recruiter once in my career. After that, I’ve had nothing but bad experiences with recruiters. The main problem with recruiters isn’t necessarily with the recruiting itself. It’s the human element that always gets in the way. Let’s explore.
Recruiter’s Bottom Line
A recruiter’s bottom line is the commission that they receive upon placing a candidate. This commission, unfortunately, drives the entire placement process. When a recruiter’s sole motivation is based on money, the candidate and the hiring company both get the short end of the stick.
Case in point, I have used recruiters for the last two or three jobs I’ve attempted to land. In nearly every case, the recruiters misrepresented the job to me in the phone interviews. When a recruiter sent me to an interview, I quickly found the job was not a match for my skills. Basically, the job was entirely wrong based on my skills or I had specifically told the recruiter not to place me in that industry or job type. Yet, there I was, interviewing for a job where I shouldn’t have been.
This ends up a wild goose chase. When I explained the problem to the recruiter, they turn defensive and blame me for a ‘bad interview’. It wasn’t bad, it was just a mismatch because of the recruiter’s lack of skill or inability to listen. Of course, this all comes back to the commission. Once the commission dollars become a reality in their mind, the recruiter puts blinders on. They then attempt to force a square peg into a round hole to avoid losing their payday.
Sincere Recruiters?
That’s not to say that there aren’t sincere recruiters out there. I’m sure there are some. However, the recruiting industry is so filled with inexperienced recruiters only willing to make a buck that you can’t tell the difference between who is sincere and who isn’t. It’s not like recruiting is regulated or has any grading system. So there is no method for you, the candidate, to determine just how a specific staffing firm works.
The one recruiting game that gets to me is when recruiters simply resume collect to fill a database, but have no intention of placing you. Robert Half (RHI) is notoriously bad for this. They’ll collect your resume, ask you to step into their offices for a ‘face to face’ and additionally ask you to spend an hour or longer filling out paperwork. After you’ve spent all of that time doing this for them, they never call you back. That’s such a waste of time. Instead of wasting a day at their offices, the candidate could have better spent that time sending out resumes to actual employers and going on legitimate interviews with direct employers.
Recruiting Tactics
Other tactics from recruiters include the recruiter finding a job posting on the Internet, collecting resumes and contacting qualified candidates. Only after they have the candidates in hand do they then try to lasso in the employer. They string the candidate along thinking they have a chance at the position when they haven’t even talked with the hiring company about the position. Once the hiring company turns down the recruiter, this is when the recruiter stops calling the candidate and stops taking calls.
This recruiting scam is yet another colossal waste of time. These scams should be very apparent once you get two or three recruiters calling to recruit for the same hiring company and the same position. In a typical recruiting engagement with a hiring company, the hiring company only allows one recruiter to recruit for the position, not multiple. When multiple recruiters are recruiting for the same position, either the hiring company doesn’t understand the recruiting process or, more likely, the recruiters are not on retainer.
Ask Lots of Questions
When choosing to work with recruiters, be cautious and ask lots of questions. A recruiter does attempt to be the candidate’s advocate, but usually only to the point that they don’t lose their commission. If losing their commission becomes a reality, recruiters can become desperate in the relationship between the candidate and the hiring company. In fact, a working recruiter relationship can turn sour in about 30 seconds once the candidate or hiring company expresses disinterest. This is when the recruiter’s professionalism is tested. If the recruiter keeps pushing the candidate or the hiring company after disinterest has been expressed, that behavior is not professional. It also shows just how much the recruiter values their commission over a properly filled position.
For a recruiter, it’s much more valuable to place a qualified candidate in the proper position than collect a recruiting commission. But, many recruiters turn desperate when their square peg won’t fit into their round hole. On the other hand, some recruiters just don’t care. They’ll attempt to place anyone in any position just to fill their required quota.
Recruiting Advocacy
It can be difficult to find a recruiter who is actively willing to work on your behalf as a candidate. If you find one, stick with them. Keep in mind, however, that they are all working on commission, so their placement of you fills their (and the recruiting firm’s) bank account. That money motivation can cause the recruiter to do things they would not otherwise do. Finding the most suitable job for you should be their number one priority. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case.
Only you as the candidate can look out for your own best interest. If you find a recruiter has misrepresented a position, then walk away from the recruiter. You can, however, submit a direct resume to that employer IF the recruiter has disclosed the employer’s name. However, some recruiters refuse to disclose the prospective employer’s name until after you already know the job is unsuitable.
Recruiters: Friend or Foe?
To answer this question specifically, they can be both at the same time. As a candidate, you will need to keep your eyes and ears open. As a candidate, you must listen, ask questions and understand what the recruiters are telling you. You must also be able to read between the lines to understand if the recruiter is feeding you a line of bullshit or telling you the truth. Having a truth meter is important when working with recruiters. You should also always remain skeptical when the recruiter tells you something that seems too good to be true.
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