Then-Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is rushed offstage during a rally on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Lenz's job was to gather information on the ground and relay it up the chain of command on July 13, 2024. His unit worked to secure the event in a joint effort with the U.S. Secret Service.
Witnesses from that day would killing rally attendee Corey Comperatore as he shielded his wife and daughters from bullets.
In the latest "Butler Under Fire" episode, the Butler County ESU met with Comperatore's widow, Helen, to answer her questions about that day.
"They deserve to have the truth told," Lenz said. "They gave us permission to do this. We have their blessing to be here, and they wanted to do this. That really is the deciding factor."
"We're not doing this for us. We're doing this for them."
Helen wanted to meet with local law enforcement to find out more about that fateful day from their perspective. Upon meeting the unit, she received hugs from many.
A firetruck in Buffalo Township, Pennsylvania honoring the firefighter, Corey Comperatore, who was killed at the Trump rally on July 13, 2024. (Sarah Rumpf-Whitten/Fox News Digital)
"For the team as a whole, getting to meet her and her showing support for the team means the world to all of us," ESU member Michael Murcko said.
Murcko radioed Lenz about a suspicious person "lurking around the AGR building" and sighting the stage through a rangefinder – a device used to measure distances – that day, escalating the level of concern.
Not long after, Lenz contacted the state police sergeant, whose job was to relay the information to Secret Service.
"I can tell you 100% that the Secret Service was absolutely aware," Lenz told Helen.
"They had all the information that we were telling them."
According to Lenz, Crooks caught Butler County ESU Chris Kopas' eye early on.
"The shooter was one of the people that I began to monitor. He kept going in and out of eyesight, looking up and paying close attention to where our sniper units were located within that building…" Kopas shared.
"It didn't seem like he had any cares about actually being at a presidential rally."
Cell phone video captured the gunman walking through the vendor row near the entrance at 4:26 p.m.
