In a startling revelation, Sen.
Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) has disclosed that President Trump's security detail during the day of his assassination attempt was predominantly staffed by inexperienced Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents.
This information, according to whistleblowers, indicates a significant deviation from standard protocols typically observed during such high-profile events.
As reported by The Blaze, Sen. Hawley made these claims public through a letter addressed to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The letter, a copy of which was shared by the Missouri senator, detailed the allegations made by whistleblowers from within the DHS. "Whistleblowers tell me that MOST of Trumps security detail working the event last Saturday were not even Secret Service," Hawley wrote. "DHS assigned unprepared and inexperienced personnel."
The whistleblowers, who allegedly have direct knowledge of the event, suggested that the Trump rally on July 13, 2024, was treated as a "loose" security event. This lax approach reportedly resulted in "detection canines not being used to monitor entry and detect threats in the usual manner" and "individuals without proper designations gaining access to backstage areas."
The whistleblowers further alleged that "department personnel did not appropriately police the security buffer around the podium and were also not stationed at regular intervals around the event's security perimeter." In a shocking revelation, they claimed that the former president's detail was not primarily composed of Secret Service agents. "The majority of DHS were not in fact USSS agents but instead drawn from the department's Homeland Security Investigations," Hawley wrote, adding that these HSI agents were "unfamiliar with standard protocols typically used at these types of events."
In his letter, Hawley posed seven critical questions to Secretary Mayorkas, beginning with the rationale behind the DHS's staffing decisions for the event. He queried about the percentage of DHS agents from HSI rather than the typical Secret Service and whether they had received adequate training for such events. He also sought clarification on whether agents were appropriately stationed around Trump's podium.
The most crucial question, however, was saved for last: "How long did agents physically spend on the ground surveying the site before the event?"
The Secret Service's response to the security failures surrounding the assassination attempt on Trump has been far from satisfactory, according to many Americans. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle was even captured on video evading questions from Sens. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.).
Hawley's letter also highlighted that the Senate has gleaned more information from whistleblowers than from DHS officials. Meanwhile, Secretary Mayorkas' only public statements in the six days following the shooting of Trump have pertained to border security, raising further questions about the DHS's handling of the incident.
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