Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Ark.) revealed the FBI turned him away from the rally site where former President Donald was shot last week.
Hawley explained in a Friday exchange with Fox News host Sean Hannity that he tried to visit the fateful spot in Butler, Pennsylvania, where at least one shooter attempted to assassinate Trump, but was ordered by the Bureau to leave.
“Today, when I went to the site, the FBI has got more security on that site now than they did the night that Trump was shot at,” Hawley said.
As the Senate prepares for hearings, today I went to Butler County to see the site of the shooting myself – and FBI told me to leave. We need ANSWERS. I won’t stop pushing until we get them pic.twitter.com/rtswNlngGi
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) July 20, 2024
“And they’re trying to control the information. Sean, they tried to kick me off of the site. They said ‘Get outta here, you shouldn’t be on this site, we don’t want you here.’”
“They brought local cops Sean, get this — I’m there onsite, I had permission from the local security operator to be there and the FBI came out and said, ‘You have got to leave. We do not want you here,’” he added.
The Arkansas senator was simply probing the security lapses at the site that led to the shooter to be able to take several shots at the former president and how several eyewitnesses got the jump on the would-be assassin before the authorities did.
Here’s my view of the scene where President Trump was shot. Big question: why wasn’t the building where the shooter fired from included in the security perimeter? It’s incredibly close, with a clear line of sight pic.twitter.com/r1n7cnaH0q
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) July 20, 2024
Hawley on Friday also sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas revealing he’d been hearing from whistleblowers within the DHS exposing the fact that most of Trump’s security detail that day were NOT, in fact, Secret Service personnel.
Agents weren’t prepared to protect Trump on Saturday – whistleblowers say many weren’t even part of the Secret Service
DHS dispatched officers who weren’t familiar with security protocol
Mayorkas & Secret Service director both need to resign pic.twitter.com/OzhJy93aQ8
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) July 20, 2024
“Whistleblowers who have direct knowledge of the event have approached my office,” Hawley wrote.
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
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. 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 no stationed at regular intervals around the event’s security perimeter.
Security was so lax that the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was even able to fly a drone into the security perimeter and smuggle in homemade explosive devices to the event showground, according to reports.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and the House Oversight and Homeland Security Committees in the aftermath of the failed attempt on Trump’s life announced that they would conduct an investigation into the shooting.
Secret Service Director later agreed to testify this Monday about her agency’s failure to protect Trump after she was threatened with subpoenas by Republican lawmakers.
Watch Hawley’s full remarks: