Photo: Alamy
A whistleblower has revealed that the Secret Service rejected the use of drones during the Pennsylvania rally where a shooter attempted to assassinate President Donald Trump.
Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley shared the report concerning the whistleblower’s account on Thursday in a letter to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
“The night before the rally, U.S. Secret Service repeatedly denied offers from a local law enforcement partner to utilize drone technology to secure the rally. This means that the technology was both available to USSS and able to be deployed to secure the site. Secret Service said no,” Hawley wrote to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
“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,” the letter added.
The Secret Service has been criticized for its failure to prevent the assassination attempt against Trump that killed one supporter and injured two other men.
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned on Tuesday after a Monday hearing where she presented testimony concerning the assassination attempt in Pennsylvania.
The shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Crooks, fired shots from a nearby rooftop before being killed by a counter-sniper. He also reportedly flew a drone over the rally location just hours before Trump’s rally.
“We have recovered a drone that the shooter appears to have used. It’s being exploited and analyzed by the FBI lab. The drone was recovered in his vehicle, so at the time of the shooting, the drone was in his vehicle with the controller,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said during a July 13 hearing.
The drone reportedly flew approximately 200 yards from the rally stage between 3:50 p.m. and 4 p.m.
House Speaker Mike Johnson announced the launch of a bipartisan task force on Tuesday.
“The task force will be empowered with subpoena authority and will move quickly to find the facts, ensure accountability, and make certain such failures never happen again,” Johnson wrote.
The House unanimously approved the task force during a vote on Wednesday night.