On Thursday, Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) revealed in a letter that a whistleblower informed him the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) rejected offers from a local law enforcement partner to employ drone technology for securing the July 13 rally where an assailant attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump. Hawley penned a letter sent Thursday to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, whose department oversees the Secret Service.
According to the whistleblower, on the night before the rally, the USSS persistently declined offers from a local law enforcement partner to utilize drone technology to secure the event. This indicates that the technology was both available to USSS and could have been deployed to safeguard the site. The Secret Service refused. The whistleblower further alleges that after the shooting transpired, the USSS changed course and requested the local partner to deploy the drone technology for surveilling the site in the wake of the attack.
The Secret Service has not clarified why there was no drone surveillance during the rally – which could have helped the agency observe the sniper ascending to the rooftop of a building and positioning himself with a rifle before firing at Trump.
Despite the Secret Service allegedly declining the use of drone technology, the shooter utilized a drone to reconnoiter the area just hours before Trump took the stage, FBI Director Christopher Wray revealed on Wednesday during testimony to the House Judiciary Committee.
Breitbart News / Matt Perdie.
This raises an obvious question: why was the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) not using its own drones?” Hawley queried Mayorkas. He added.
It is difficult to fathom why USSS would refuse 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.
Hawley demanded Mayorkas for all records and communications regarding the availability or use of drones at the rally within seven days from his letter, stating, “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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