Many of the security tasked with protecting Donald Trump at his ill-fated Pennsylvania rally Saturday were not Secret Service agents, according to a letter by the Secret Service director Friday.
U.S. Senator from Missouri Josh Hawley posted the letter from Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.
“…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,” the letter said.
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
pic.twitter.com/eo4jNmJWFT
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) July 19, 2024
The letter discussed whistleblowers of the event.
“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,” the letter said. “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.”
Perhaps the fact many of these agents weren’t in the Secret Service explains why they were unable to go on a sloped roof, as Cheatle claimed, despite roofers, chimney sweeps and Santa Clause all being able to navigate much ‘slope-ier’ roofs.
EXCLUSIVE: Learn How The Secret Service Monitored Their Patsy’s Progress On July 13th