In a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) claimed whistleblowers have revealed that the Secret Service “abandoned” its position on the roof would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks used to shoot former President Donald Trump due to “hot weather.”
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Hawley wrote, “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.”
As part of his social media post, Hawley shared a copy of the letter the Missouri senator sent to Mayorkas regarding the assassination attempt on Trump at his campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.
Hawley told Mayorkas that since his last correspondence with the secretary of Homeland Security, whistleblowers contacted his office “with troubling information” regarding the assassination attempt against the former president.
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Hawley wrote, “Contrary to Director Cheatle’s public statements about the ‘safety’ of the sloped roof of American Glass Research Building 6, one whistleblower with direct knowledge of Secret Service planning for the event alleges that 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,” Hawley added.
The Republican senator explained that the whistleblower also claimed the “concerns over the heat” caused law enforcement officials to “forego patrolling Building 6 and instead to station security inside the building.”
In his letter, Hawley said he had been told by a Department of Homeland Security official that the department had “nearly completed” its report on the department’s personnel responsible for providing security at the former president’s rally on July 13. The senator urged the secretary of Homeland Security to provide him with a copy of the report “immediately.”
Hawley also asked Mayorkas to confirm whether the whistleblower’s allegations were accurate and when the official abandoned the roof if the allegation was correct. He also asked Mayorkas to reveal which law enforcement units had been assigned to the roof and whether any law enforcement personnel failed to report to the assigned stations at the Pennsylvania Trump rally.
