Reports on where security was supposed to be and where officials were prohibited raised new concerns about the attempt on former President Donald Trump’s life.
While U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle increased calls for her resignation and more through her congressional testimony Monday, a bipartisan group of lawmakers from the House Homeland Security Committee toured the scene of the tragic rally to better understand how events unfolded.
It was there that Committee Chair Tennessee Rep. Mark Green (R) learned that not only was communication limited between the inner and outer perimeter, but local law enforcement did not have a representative in the command center.
“Normally, the local law enforcement guys are allowed to sit in the Secret Service…control room where the leadership sits and monitors the actions,” he told the press Monday after touring the Butler Farm Show grounds. “Today, the locals shared with us that they were not allowed to have anybody in there.”
From what we learned today during our trip to Butler, PA, there was very limited communication between local law enforcement and the Secret Service on the day of the assassination attempt against President Trump. pic.twitter.com/77my05E2yn
— Rep. Mark Green (@RepMarkGreen) July 22, 2024
Piggybacking off that report, Fox News contributor Paul Mauro, who served as the New York Police Department Legal Bureau commanding officer and NYPD Intelligence Operations and Analysis Bureau executive officer, detailed to Fox News how it is typical for the highest-ranking member of each agency present to be posted to the command center “because you have to make decisions, and sometimes they’re hard decisions.”
Typically, the ranking member of the Secret Service detail “is going to have the final say on everything,” he added.
Meanwhile, Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley (R) submitted a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Cheatle Monday with a damning allegation from a whistleblower that contradicted her claim about the “sloped roof” and instead contended “there was supposed to be a law enforcement presence on the roof that day.”
“In fact, the whistleblower alleges that at least one individual was specifically assigned to the roof for the duration of the rally, but this person abandoned his or her post due to the hot weather,” read the senator’s letter asking for clarity on the allegations. “The whistleblower further alleges that concerns over the heat prompted law enforcement to forego patrolling Building 6 and instead to station security personnel inside the building.”
NEW – Whistleblowers tell me law enforcement personnel were in fact STATIONED to the roof the day of the Trump rally, but abandoned it, citing the heat. They also say law enforcement were supposed to be patrolling the building, but opted to stay inside instead pic.twitter.com/aIVNSPHUF6
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) July 22, 2024
Additionally, Arizona Rep. Eli Crane (R), a former U.S. Navy SEAL sniper, shared footage from the “sloped roof” from which shots had been fired on Trump and presented other questions about how the suspect went undeterred when there were other points from which security would have been able to secure the area.
I’m on the roof of the building in Butler, PA where shots were fired in an attempt to assassinate President Trump.
As a former Navy SEAL sniper, it was clear to me that many security measures were dropped making Pres. Trump extremely vulnerable.
Many questions still remain. pic.twitter.com/p2EhBTFg1M
— Rep. Eli Crane (@RepEliCrane) July 22, 2024
Raised in Butler, Pennsylvania, Rep. Mike Kelly (R), who had attended the rally that ended with a would-be assassin killing firefighter Corey Comperatore and injuring David Dutch and James Copenhaver, expressed to Fox News Digital, “If there was an idea that there was somebody here that was suspect, why even allow President Trump to even go up to the podium…and why did we go ahead and continue with the program?”
“I can tell you that being there for watching the president go down, watching Corey right over my left shoulder go down — it was a horrible day for American people. And then a couple other gentlemen sitting across from the president also getting struck by bullets. It was a bad day for America,” he added.
A statement from a USSS spokesperson to the outlet expressed, “The Secret Service is fully accountable for the safety of its protectees. We are committed to better understanding what happened before, during, and after the assassination attempt of former President Trump to ensure that never happens again. That includes complete cooperation with Congress, the FBI, and other relevant investigations.”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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