Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) disclosed on Thursday that a whistleblower informed him the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) rejected offers from a local law enforcement partner to use drone technology for security at the July 13 rally, where a shooter attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump.
In a letter sent Thursday to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, whose agency oversees the Secret Service, Senator Josh Hawley wrote:
According to one whistleblower, 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.
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 Secret Service has not explained why there was no drone surveillance for the rally — which could have helped the agency see the sniper climbing to the rooftop of a building and positioning himself with a rifle before firing at Trump.
Despite the Secret Service allegedly rejecting the use of drone technology, the shooter used a drone to survey the area just hours before Trump took the stage, FBI Director Christopher Wray revealed Wednesday during testimony to the House Judiciary Committee.
“This raises an obvious question: why was the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) not using its own drones?” Hawley asked Mayorkas. He added:
It is hard to understand why USSS 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 event.
The failure to deploy drone technology is all the more concerning since, according to the whistleblower, the drones USSS was offered had the capability not only to identify active shooters but also to help neutralize them.
Senator Hawley requested all records and communications related to the availability or use of drones at the rally from Secretary Mayorkas within seven days of his letter. He added, “You must also testify before Congress next week about these staggering security failures by your department.”
“The American people deserve answers about your historic failure to protect former President Trump on July 13, 2024,” he said.
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