Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) has raised alarms about the protective detail for former President Donald Trump at his July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Hawley claims that most of the agents assigned to safeguard Trump were from Homeland Security and had only received a brief, flawed online training session.
The training, conducted via a two-hour webinar, reportedly faced serious technical problems, including audio issues and repeated video restarts. The whistleblower described the training as inadequate and said the agents were ill-prepared for their crucial role.
On the day of the rally, Trump was attacked by Thomas Crooks, a 20-year-old who fired from a rooftop, wounding Trump and two others, and killing retired fire chief Corey Comperatore. The inadequacy of the security detail has been a major point of contention, with Hawley criticizing the decision to use unqualified personnel.
Hawley has formally requested an explanation from Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe, questioning why more experienced agents were not deployed despite warnings of a potential threat. Initial reports had misled the public by suggesting that a Secret Service counter sniper was responsible for neutralizing Crooks, but it has since been revealed that a local SWAT operator took that action.
The revelations have intensified scrutiny of the security measures in place and the effectiveness of the training provided to those assigned to protect high-profile individuals.
