Hawley: Whistleblowers Allege Trump Rally Was Considered a ‘Loose’ Security Event

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said “several whistleblowers” have contacted him claiming that former President Donald Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last weekend was considered a “loose” security event, in one release published Friday.

“Whistleblowers who have direct knowledge of the event have approached my office,” Hawley wrote. “According to allegations, the July 13 rally was considered a ‘loose’ security event.”

The Missouri senator said he demanded answers in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over the Secret Service security failure allowing a gunman to allegedly climb onto a roof and get a direct line of fire toward Trump in the rally.

Detection canines were not used to monitor event entry and detect threats “in the usual way,” Hawley said.

“Individuals without proper designations gained behind-the-scenes access,” Hawley said. “Department personnel did not adequately police the security area around the podium and were also not stationed at regular intervals around the event security perimeter.”

Hawley, who sits on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, opened a tip line in his office this week, pledging to keep the line anonymous for those who call with information.

Hawley, like some of his Republican colleagues, condemned the shooting and demanded to know what allowed it to happen.

The shooting left the former president with a wound to one ear, killed one rally participant and seriously injured two others. The shooter, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was killed after shooting.

The sloped roof of the building Crooks climbed had “safety factor” considerations in place, so police were inside the building rather than on top of it, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said Tuesday.

There have been growing calls for Cheatle to resign, which she has rejected. She confirmed on Friday that she will testify before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee on Monday.

President Biden directed an independent review of security at the rally. Biden said the FBI is leading the investigation into the shooting.

The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General also opened an investigation into how the Secret Service handled security at the event, it said Wednesday.

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story