Local law enforcement proposed to help with drone technology at the Butler, Pa. rally where former President Donald Trump was nearly assassinated earlier this month but was turned down by the Secret Service, a whistleblower claimed, according to Sen. Josh Hawley.
Hawley (R-Mo.), 44, penned a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Thursday demanding answers about a whistleblower’s allegations that the Secret Service “repeatedly” rejected the offer.
“The night before the rally, US Secret Service repeatedly denied offers from a local law enforcement partner to utilize drone technology to secure the rally,” Hawley wrote to Mayorkas citing the whistleblower.
“The whistleblower further alleges that after the shooting took place, USSS changed course and asked the local partner to deploy the drone technology to surveil the site in the aftermath of the attack,” he added.
The Department of Homeland Security is the agency that oversees the Secret Service.
Hawley previously went public with whistleblower allegations that an officer who was designated to observe the roof of the shed where would-be assassin Thomas Crooks, 20, fired shots from, but left the spot because it was “too hot.”
The Missouri Republican had sent a letter to Mayorkas on Monday demanding answers about those accusations, as well.
Ultimately, Crooks fired multiple shots at the rally, killing firefighter Corey Comperatore, 50, severely injuring two others — David Dutch, 57, as well as James Copenhaver, 74.— and nicking Trump’s ear.
On Wednesday, FBI director Christopher Wray raised questions about whether a bullet hit Trump’s ear or if the wound was caused by shrapnel. Trump has publicly claimed the bullet grazed him.
Wray also verified during his testimony before the Judiciary Committee Wednesday reports that Crooks had conducted surveillance within the vicinity of the rally area with a drone roughly two hours before the assassination attempt.
Specifically, Crooks had used a drone from Chinese company DJI, which has sparked renewed conversations in Congress about restricting such devices, a source told The Post.
Everything we know about the Trump assassination attempt
- 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks was identified as the shooter who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
- Crooks was shot dead by Secret Service agents.
- The gunman grazed Trump’s ear, killed a 50-year-old retired fire chief, and injured two other rally-goers.
- Investigators detailed Crooks’ search history to lawmakers, revealing that he looked for the dates of Trump’s appearances and the Democratic National Convention.
- Crooks’ search history also revealed a broad interest in high-profile people and celebrities, regardless of their political affiliation, FBI officials reportedly said.
- Trump exclusively recounted surviving the “surreal” assassination attempt with The Post at the rally, remarking, “I’m supposed to be dead.”
- High-profile politicians, including President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, addressed the nation about the shooting, calling it “a heinous, horrible and cowardly act.”
Crooks, who was roughly 150 yards north of Trump during the attack, was later killed by law enforcement.
“It is hard to understand why [the Secret Service] would decline to use drones when they were offered, particularly given the fact USSS permitted the shooter to overfly the rally area with his own drone mere hours before [the] event,” Hawley went on.
Hawley further revealed that a whistleblower alleged the drones that had been offered would have been able to “help neutralize” an active shooter.
When asked for comment, the Secret Service directed The Post to DHS, which did not immediately respond to an inquiry.
In the meantime, Trump is contemplating sticking with indoor rallies instead of outdoor ones for the foreseeable future, NBC reported.
On Tuesday Kimberly Cheatle announced her resignation as Secret Service director amid fierce pressure from both Republicans and some Democrats to do so.
The July 13 assassination attempt against Trump marked the closest a gunman had gotten to killing a sitting or former US president since 1981 when John Hinckley Jr. shot Ronald Reagan.
Here’s the latest on the assassination attempt against Donald Trump:
- Trump reveals what Biden told him on call after assassination attempt — says he refused to be put on a stretcher
- Attempted Trump assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks’ ‘pathway to violence’ explained
- Florida man arrested for ‘written threats to kill’ Trump, Vance days after assassination attempt
- Secret Service honchos denied Trump additional security for 2 years before assassination attempt: damning revelation
Trump emerged at the podium afterward with blood streaming down his face and a defiant fist-pump before Secret Service agents whisked him away. At the Republican National Convention last week, he donned a bandage over his right ear.
Since the attempt, numerous groups, including the DHS inspector general and a bipartisan House task force have initiated investigations into the security failures revolving around the Butler, Pa. rally.
Hawley is demanding that the DHS fork over “all records and communications concerning the availability or use of drones” at the rally within the next seven days. He is also calling on Mayorkas to testify before Congress next week.
The House is slated to commence its August recess at the end of this week, but the Senate is scheduled to be in session next week.
The House House Homeland Security Committee has subpoenaed Mayorkas for documents pertaining to the assassination attempt.
Additional reporting by Joshua Christenson