Most Agents Assigned To Protect Trump At Butler Rally Only Received ‘2 Hour Online Training,’ Sen. Hawley Says

Whistleblowers have warned Congress that federal agents reassigned to protective candidate details, including former President Donald Trump‘s, were “egregiously under-prepared.”

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) claimed in an X post on Tuesday that Homeland Security personnel had been “thrown onto Trump’s protective detail with nothing more than a 2hr online training” at the July 13 campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where a 20-year-old man attempted to assassinate the former president.

During a Fox News interview, Hawley said, “Think about this: This former president of the US…is sent out on stage, most of the people there are not trained, they’re not qualified. They only got a webinar training and even that didn’t work.”

Hawley sent a letter to Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe on Tuesday detailing new claims about Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) agents that partner with the Secret Service. He said the recent allegations “suggest that a significant number of personnel tasked with providing security for former President Trump at the July 13 rally were egregiously under-prepared by the Secret Service to carry out this mission.”

“When Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents partner with the Secret Service, they should be properly trained. New whistleblower allegations contend that this isn’t happening…,” Hawley wrote. 

????????NEW – My letter to Secret Service Director Rowe detailing new whistleblower allegations that Homeland Security agents working the Butler Trump rally received only “webinar” training beforehand pic.twitter.com/KQZbgDf7Rs

— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) September 4, 2024

The Missouri Republican added that a whistleblower told him “that the only training received by many HSI agents reassigned to work protective details is a two-hour webinar on Microsoft Teams featuring pre-recorded videos.”  

“Imagine 1,000 people logging onto Microsoft Teams at the same time after being informed at the last minute that everyone needed to login individually,” a whistleblower said, according to Hawley. “Once it got rolling, the Secret Service instructor couldn’t figure out how to get the audio working on the prerecorded videos (which I’m told are the same videos as last year). All told, they restarted the videos approximately six times …. The content was not helpful.”

The agents assigned to President Trump in Butler PA were pulled off child exploitation cases and thrown onto Trump’s protective detail with nothing more than a 2hr online training. And we know this ONLY because of brave whistleblowers pic.twitter.com/m8CY5eqmUl

— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) September 4, 2024

Hawley added in his letter that “these latest whistleblower allegations contend HSI agents were pulled off child exploitation cases in order to serve on protective details for which they were unprepared.” 

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Since Trump was shot in the ear by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks at the July 13 rally, the whistleblower told Hawley that there have been no security training improvements. 

“Nothing new, nothing improved since the assassination attempt on former President Trump,” the whistleblower said. 

Hawley asked Rowe to provide details on how many HSI agents were present at the July 13 rally, how many were only trained through the webinar, and to provide specific curriculum and training materials. Lawmakers continue to investigate the Secret Service’s handling of the Butler rally as questions remain about what caused the massive security failures.