CLAY TOWNSHIP — Brian Hess didn’t expect to be at former President Donald’s Trump second campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania — let alone be part of security for his rally.

He and his team weren’t protecting Trump; they were guarding Helen Comperatore, the wife of Corey Comperatore, who Thomas Crooks, a failed Trump assassin, shot and killed on July 13.

Hess owns and operates Elite Preparedness LLC, a multipurpose facility that serves as a gun range, trains for security operations and more.

Hess was washing dishes after dinner when he received a call from a potential client asking if his team could be security for Corey’s calling hours in less than 12 hours.

Hess agreed.

How Elite Preparedness planned for Trump’s 2nd Butler rally

Roughly four weeks before Trump’s second Butler rally, Hess received another request from Helen asking if his security team at Elite Preparedness could provide personnel at the Oct. 5 campaign event

Hess gathered eight security team members for the job, planning weeks in advance for the large-crowd campaign stop.

Before implementing a plan, Hess’s team discussed multiple ‘what-if’ questions and mapped out solutions in case something went wrong during the security trip.

Once the event details were established, Hess divided the team into the advanced team, the driving team, and the follow team.

The advanced team went to the Butler fairgrounds before Trump’s rally began, identifying entry/exit routes, local hospitals and corresponding with local law enforcement, Hess said.

The driving team transported Comperatore, while the follow team stayed behind in case she needed to be moved for safety reasons.

In the four weeks following up, Hess was in contact with the Secret Service and Trump’s staff, informing both on Elite Preparedness plans for Oct. 5.

Also in those planning meetings, Hess and the team were “getting an idea that we can formulate our mission around,” he said.

“We’re here on the grounds and we’re practicing everything from our motorcade, how we get her out of the vehicle, (how we) walk into the venue and how to get back to the vehicles,” Hess said.

Day of the event

Hess said the day started around 4:30 a.m. on Oct. 5, confirming if any of the mission’s details changed throughout the night. Hess and his team got a short workout in at 6 a.m. before picking up Comperatore and her two daughters from the Pittsburgh International Airport.

After waiting roughly four hours for Trump’s plane to hit the tarmac, Helen and Trump met one another, Hess said.

Driving to the site lines filled with Trump supporters, Hess said.

Comperatore and the Hess team met with Trump, his family, Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk and others at a meet-and-greet after the rally. Once there, the former president presented Helen with a painting of her husband.

“Once we left the venue, we were on our own with our security to take the family back home,” Hess said.

Afterward, Hess and his team reviewed the mission, noting what the team did correctly and vice versa.

‘There’s no false praise,” Hess said. “In the after-action review, we find the areas where we can improve and we work that into our training going forward.

“It did get some recognition for a small business in Knox County, Ohio, to get on the national stage,” Hess said.