Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., wrote on X Friday that “whistleblowers tell me that MOST of Trump’s security detail working the event last Saturday were not even Secret Service.
“DHS assigned unprepared and inexperienced personnel,” he added, posting a letter he sent today to United States Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.
“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,” Hawley wrote. “Individuals without proper designations were able to gain access to backstage areas. 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 addition, 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,” Hawley also said.
