Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) on Thursday revealed a letter in which a whistleblower said the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) turned down an offer from a local law enforcement partner to use drone technology to provide security for the July 13 rally where a gunman attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump.
“I am deeply sorry to hear that you have not provided any assistance to our Secret Service,” Hawley wrote in a letter sent Thursday to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, the agency that oversees the Secret Service.
According to one whistleblower, on the eve of the rally, the US Secret Service repeatedly rejected offers from local law enforcement partners to use drone technology to secure the rally, meaning the technology was available to the US Secret Service and could have been deployed to secure the venue. The Secret Service refused. The whistleblower further alleges that after the shooting, the US Secret Service changed course and asked local partners to deploy drone technology to monitor the venue following the attack.
The Secret Service has not explained why it did not monitor the rally with a drone, which could have helped the agency see a sniper ascend to the roof of a building, position himself with a rifle, and open fire on Trump.
Despite the Secret Service’s reported refusal to use drone technology, the shooter used a drone to monitor the area just hours before Trump took the stage, FBI Director Christopher Wray revealed in testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.
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“This raises an obvious question: Why didn’t the United States Secret Service (USSS) use their own drones?” Hawley asked Mayorkas. He added:
“It is difficult to understand why the USSS declined the use of drones when they were offered them, especially given the fact that the USSS allowed the shooter to fly his own drone over the rally area just hours before the event. This failure to deploy drone technology is even more concerning because, according to whistleblowers, the drone provided to the USSS had the capacity to not only identify the shooter but also help neutralize him.”
Hawley called on Mayorkas to turn over all records and communications related to the availability and use of drones at the rally within seven days of the letter, adding that he “must testify before Congress next week about these astonishing security failures by the Department.”
“The American people deserve an explanation for the historic failure to protect former President Trump on July 13, 2024,” he said.
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