Hawley: Secret Service failed to properly train agents prior to Trump rally shooting
WASHINGTON — Missouri U.S. Senator Josh Hawley sent a letter to Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe following new whistleblower allegations that Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents who partnered with the Secret Service for protective details were improperly trained. Reports indicate that this deficient training extended to the Butler, Pa., rally where former president Donald Trump was shot.
“Whistleblower allegations to my office report that the only training received by many HSI agents reassigned to work protective details is a single two-hour webinar on Microsoft Teams featuring pre-recorded videos,” wrote Senator Hawley. “The whistleblower alleged that these videos were not substantive and their playback was frequently riddled with technical mishaps, leaving the HSI agents ill-prepared for the protective mission to which they were newly assigned.”
He continued, “[A]ll of these allegations together suggest that a significant number of personnel tasked with providing security for former President Trump at the July 13 rally were egregiously under-prepared by the Secret Service to carry out this mission. Moreover, these latest whistleblower allegations contend HSI agents were pulled off child exploitation cases in order to serve on protective details for which they were unprepared.”
As a member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Senator Hawley has continued to investigate the attempted assassination of former President Trump. He has personally surveyed the Butler site and has publicized multiple whistleblower allegations. Previous allegations assert that agents were discouraged from requesting additional security and note loose security at the Trump rally, abandoned posts on the roof where the shooter was located, and scaled-back security due to the decisions of Acting Director Rowe. Whistleblowers with information are encouraged to contact Senator Hawley’s office.
On July 30, Senator Hawley questioned Acting Director Rowe in a Senate hearing. The Acting Director confirmed that the Secret Service did, in fact, refuse drones from local law enforcement—a detail brought to light by a whistleblower in contact with Senator Hawley’s office.
Read the full letter here or below.
September 3, 2024
The Honorable Ronald L. Rowe, Jr.
Acting Director
U.S. Secret Service
245 Murray Ln SW, Building T-5
Washington, D.C. 20223
Dear Acting Director Rowe,
When Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents partner with the Secret Service, they should be properly trained. New whistleblower allegations contend this isn’t happening and that HSI agents reassigned to candidate details—including former President Trump’s—are woefully unprepared for the job.
Whistleblower allegations to my office report that the only training received by many HSI agents reassigned to work protective details is a single two-hour webinar on Microsoft Teams featuring pre-recorded videos. The whistleblower alleged that these videos were not substantive and their playback was frequently riddled with technical mishaps, leaving the HSI agents ill-prepared for the protective mission to which they were newly assigned. To quote the whistleblower directly: “Imagine 1,000 people logging onto Microsoft Teams at the same time after being informed at the last minute that everyone needed to login individually. Once it got rolling, the Secret Service instructor couldn’t figure out how to get the audio working on the prerecorded videos (which I’m told are the same videos as last year). All told, they restarted the videos approximately six times …. The content was not helpful.” Worse, the whistleblower alleges the Secret Service has not changed, updated, or otherwise improved its webinar “trainings” since the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. In the words of the whistleblower, “Nothing new, nothing improved since the assassination attempt on former President Trump.”
Other whistleblowers, with direct knowledge of the July 13 rally, have previously approached my office with related testimony. For example, I wrote to Secretary Mayorkas on July 19 about allegations that there were more HSI agents than Secret Service agents at the rally on July 13. I also wrote you on August 5 about allegations that HSI agents at the rally allegedly had never worked a protective detail before and did not know proper procedure. Finally, according to recent public reports, the HSI agents working the rally “only receive[d] one power-point presentation for training.”
In other words, all of these allegations together suggest that a significant number of personnel tasked with providing security for former President Trump at the July 13 rally were egregiously under-prepared by the Secret Service to carry out this mission. Moreover, these latest whistleblower allegations contend HSI agents were pulled off child exploitation cases in order to serve on protective details for which they were unprepared. Please immediately address these serious allegations about the Secret Service’s practices and use of other DHS agents:
- How many HSI agents were present at the Butler rally on July 13?
- Of the HSI agents present at the rally, how many were trained for work on protective details using webinar training, whether in whole or in part?
- Please provide a copy of the recording, curriculum, and other materials used for any online training provided to HSI special agents assigned to protective details.
- Has the training been revamped in any way since July 13?
- Have HSI agents been reassigned from child exploitation cases to assist on protective details? If so, how many?
Sincerely,
Josh Hawley
United States Senator