Tipsheet

Whistleblowers Detail Why Drones Weren't Used at Trump's Butler Rally

Katie Pavlich
Katie Pavlich  |  July 25, 2024 1:15 PM

According to whistleblower testimony given to investigators in the office of Republican Senator Josh Hawley, drones were offered for use by local law enforcement on the day of former President Donald Trump's Butler, Pennsylvania rally but were rejected by the Secret Service. 

"According to one whistleblower, the night before the rally, U.S. Secret Service repeatedly denied offers from a local law enforcement partner to utilize drone technology to secure the rally. This means that the technology was both available to USSS and able to be deployed to secure the site. Secret Service said no," Senator Hawley wrote in a letter Thursday to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. "The whistleblower further alleges that after the shooting took place, USSS changed course and asked the local partner to deploy the drone technology to surveil the site in the aftermath of the attack."

"It is hard to understand why USSS would decline 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 continued. "So that Congress can continue its investigation, please provide no later than seven days from now all records and communications concerning the availability or use of drones at the July 13, 2024 rally in Butler, PA. You must also testify before Congress next week about these staggering security failures by your department." 

The news comes just days after former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned in disgrace.