Secret Service top brass encouraged agents not to request additional security for Donald Trump’s Butler, Pa. rally last month where a would-be assassin nearly killed the former president, according to a whistleblower.
The whistleblower allegations were revealed in a Friday letter from Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) to Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe, in which the lawmaker demanded answers to Rowe’s “apparent contradiction” that no security assets were denied for the event.
“You must explain this apparent contradiction immediately,” the senator wrote.
Former President Donald Trump was grazed in the ear at a campaign rally in Butler, Penn. on July 13. APThe whistleblower claimed that the officials at Secret Service headquarters told agents in charge of the Butler campaign event to forgo asking for any additional security via a formal manpower request — which are typically made by lead advance agents ahead of trips and submitted to the local field office, in this case, Pittsburgh.
The request, which includes the number of personnel and other security assets, is submitted to the Secret Service’s Office of Protective Operations – Manpower for final review.
By allegedly informing agents not to ask for extra security in the formal request, the Secret Service was “effectively denying these assets through informal means,” Hawley (R-Mo.) claimed in the letter to Rowe.
The whistleblower claims that officials with the Secret Service’s Office of Protective Operations – Manpower “preemptively informed the Pittsburgh field office that the Butler rally was not going to receive additional security resources because Trump is a former president and not the incumbent President or Vice President.
U.S. Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe, Jr. told Congress that all assets requested had been approved. Allison Bailey/NurPhoto/Shutterstock“The manpower request did not include extra security resources because agents on the ground were told not to ask for them in the first place,” Hawley said.
The resources requested included counter-sniper teams — which were ultimately approved a day before the event — and counter-surveillance division [CSD] personnel, who were not at the rally.
“Personnel from CSD would have handcuffed the gunman in the parking lot after he was spotted with a rangefinder, but they were not present on the day,” Hawley said.
When Rowe testified before the Senate on July 30, he told lawmakers “all assets requested were approved” for Trump’s Pennsylvania rally.
Everything we know about the Trump assassination attempt
- 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks was identified as the shooter who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
- Crooks was shot dead by Secret Service agents.
- The gunman grazed Trump’s ear, killed a 50-year-old retired fire chief, and injured two other rally-goers.
- Investigators detailed Crooks’ search history to lawmakers, revealing that he looked for the dates of Trump’s appearances and the Democratic National Convention.
- Crooks’ search history also revealed a broad interest in high-profile people and celebrities, regardless of their political affiliation, FBI officials reportedly said.
- Trump exclusively recounted surviving the “surreal” assassination attempt with The Post at the rally, remarking, “I’m supposed to be dead.”
- High-profile politicians, including President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, addressed the nation about the shooting, calling it “a heinous, horrible and cowardly act.”
When asked about the whistleblower’s claims on Friday, a Secret Service spokesperson told The Post the agency “takes seriously its responsibility to share important information about its protective operations and is cooperating with a wide range of reviews and investigations related to the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
“Given the high volume of requests, the U.S. Secret Service is working to respond to Congressional requests for information through their respective Committee Chairmen with ongoing investigations into the events of the July 13 rally as quickly as possible,” the spokesperson added.
Thomas Matthew Crooks shot Trump in Butler, Penn. on July 13. AFP via Getty Images
Recently released footage captured Crooks walking through a crowd at the Trump rally hours before he shot at the former president. Iron-Clad-USA.com via StoryfulThe whistleblower’s allegations were shared publicly by Hawley hours after the head of the Secret Service’s Pittsburgh field office and at least four other agents were placed on leave amid the ongoing investigation into how 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks got so close to assassinating Trump on July 13.
Those sidelined include one member of Trump’s personal protective team and four Secret Service members, including the special agent in charge. The agents remain employed by the agency but are barred from working in the field and doing investigative work.
Another whistleblower said in July that local law enforcement offered to help with drone technology at the campaign rally, but was turned down by the Secret Service.
Bodycam footage from Beaver County Emergency Services Unit shows the body of Thomas Crooks on the ground after he shot at Donald Trump. Beaver County ESUHawley penned a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on July 25 demanding answers about a whistleblower’s allegations that the Secret Service “repeatedly” rejected the offer.
“The night before the rally, US Secret Service repeatedly denied offers from a local law enforcement partner to utilize drone technology to secure the rally,” Hawley wrote to Mayorkas citing the whistleblower.
The Department of Homeland Security oversees the Secret Service.







