Republican lawmaker from Missouri, Senator Josh Hawley, has said most of the security details around former President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania were not secret service agents.
Hawley said whistleblowers inside the Department of Homeland Security said the security details around Trump were “not even Secret Service.”
The lawmaker disclosed this in a public letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas on Friday.
Hawley outlined a series of security failures at Trump’s campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
A 20-year-old had attempted to assassinate Trump during the campaign rally in Butler.
It was reported that security agents sighted the shooter but initially delayed eliminating him.
But after shooting at the former president and missing, the 20-year-old was immediately killed.
However, Hawley said: “Whistleblowers who have direct knowledge of the event have approached my office. According to the allegations, the July 13 rally was considered to be a ‘loose’ security event.
“For example, detection canines were not used to monitor entry and detect threats in the usual manner. Individuals without proper designations were able to gain access to backstage areas.
“Other lapses in security protocol allegedly included a lack of personnel stationed around the security perimeter and an inadequately enforced buffer zone around the podium.
“Among the most troubling is the claim that the majority of personnel protecting the former president were not U.S. Secret Service (USSS) agents.
“Whistleblower allegations suggest the majority of DHS officials were not in fact USSS agents but instead drawn from the department’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
“This is especially concerning given that HSI agents were unfamiliar with standard protocols typically used at these types of events, according to the allegations.”
Assassination attempt: Most of Trump’s security not Secret Service — Senator Hawley