Whistleblower reports have revealed alarming details about the security team assigned to protect former President Donald Trump during an assassination attempt at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.
According to these reports, the majority of agents tasked with protecting Trump were not Secret Service personnel but were from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and they had received only a two-hour online webinar as their sole protective training.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) disclosed this information during an interview on Jesse Watters Primetime on Fox News, stating that whistleblowers had come forward with disturbing claims.
“A two-hour, online webinar. And I’m told that half the time, the sounds to the webinar didn’t even work,” Hawley said during the interview.
Hawley expressed outrage that such inadequately trained personnel were entrusted with the former president’s safety.
“Most of the people there are not trained, they’re not qualified,” Hawley explained. He further noted that Homeland Security agents were pulled from their regular duties, such as investigating child exploitation cases, to serve on Trump’s detail.
Adding to the concerns, Hawley criticized the Secret Service and FBI for failing to provide more details about the incident, particularly the role of local authorities in preventing a larger tragedy.
Whistleblowers also informed Hawley that the rally was considered a “loose security event,” with several key security protocols missing, including the absence of detection dogs and inadequate protection around Trump’s podium.
One of the most startling revelations from the whistleblowers was that the initial response to the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, came from a Butler SWAT team, not the Secret Service.
According to Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA), it was the local SWAT team that first engaged the shooter, disabling his rifle before Secret Service agents intervened.
The lack of preparedness at the July 13 rally has raised serious questions about the competence and safety of the security measures in place for high-profile political figures like Trump.
Hawley has since demanded a full-scale investigation into the assassination attempt and the events leading up to it.
In a letter sent to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Hawley outlined additional security failures that allegedly occurred during the event. He pointed out that individuals without proper clearance were allowed backstage, and security personnel were not properly stationed around the perimeter.
Hawley’s claims underscore a broader concern about the lack of transparency and preparedness within federal security agencies. The senator reiterated that without whistleblowers, the public would remain unaware of these critical failures.
With these alarming revelations, the pressure is mounting on the Secret Service, FBI, and DHS to account for the security shortcomings that potentially endangered the former president’s life and those attending the rally.