A whistleblower has claimed that the rooftop where a gunman shot at former President Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania was abandoned by law enforcement due to heat.
In a Monday letter to Homeland Security Director Alejandro Mayorkas, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) said a whistleblower told his office that law enforcement was supposed to have a person stationed on the building where 20-year-old Thomas Crooks shot at Trump. Hawley said the whistleblower had direct knowledge of Secret Service plans to secure the event. During the shooting, Trump and two supporters were injured, while 50-year-old Corey Comperatore was killed.
“Contrary to Director Cheatle’s public statements about the ‘safety’ of the sloped roof of American Glass Research Building 6, one whistleblower with direct knowledge of Secret Service planning for the event alleges that there was supposed to be a law enforcement presence on the roof that day,” Hawley told Mayorkas.
“In fact, the whistleblower alleges that at least one individual was specifically assigned to the roof for the duration of the rally, but this person abandoned his or her post due to the hot weather,” he added. “The whistleblower further alleges that concerns over the heat prompted law enforcement to forego patrolling Building 6 and instead to station security personnel inside the building.”
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle previously claimed that no one was stationed atop the building due to “safety” concerns about the roof’s slope. She told ABC News that the Secret Service decided to secure the inside of the structure.
“That building in particular has a sloped roof at its highest point. And so, you know, there’s a safety factor that would be considered there that we wouldn’t want to put somebody up on a sloped roof,” she said. “And so, you know, the decision was made to secure the building, from inside.”
On Monday, Rep. Pat Fallon (R-TX) asked Cheatle during her testimony before House lawmakers if the Secret Service had a policy on sloped roofs. Cheatle replied that the agency did not.
Fallon noted that there were counter snipers posted at the rally on a roof with a steeper slope than the rooftop where there were no law enforcement personnel.
Cheatle has faced calls to resign over the assassination attempt, with lawmakers demanding answers on how the shooter was able to get so close to Trump and why law enforcement did not take Crooks into custody when he was spotted on the rooftop 20 minutes before the shooting.
RELATED: Secret Service Boss Explains Why No One Was Stationed On Roof Where Gunman Shot At Trump
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A whistleblower has claimed that the rooftop where a gunman shot at former President Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania was abandoned by law enforcement due to heat.
In a Monday letter to Homeland Security Director Alejandro Mayorkas, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) said a whistleblower told his office that law enforcement was supposed to have a person stationed on the building where 20-year-old Thomas Crooks shot at Trump. Hawley said the whistleblower had direct knowledge of Secret Service plans to secure the event. During the shooting, Trump and two supporters were injured, while 50-year-old Corey Comperatore was killed.
“Contrary to Director Cheatle’s public statements about the ‘safety’ of the sloped roof of American Glass Research Building 6, one whistleblower with direct knowledge of Secret Service planning for the event alleges that there was supposed to be a law enforcement presence on the roof that day,” Hawley told Mayorkas.
“In fact, the whistleblower alleges that at least one individual was specifically assigned to the roof for the duration of the rally, but this person abandoned his or her post due to the hot weather,” he added. “The whistleblower further alleges that concerns over the heat prompted law enforcement to forego patrolling Building 6 and instead to station security personnel inside the building.”
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle previously claimed that no one was stationed atop the building due to “safety” concerns about the roof’s slope. She told ABC News that the Secret Service decided to secure the inside of the structure.
“That building in particular has a sloped roof at its highest point. And so, you know, there’s a safety factor that would be considered there that we wouldn’t want to put somebody up on a sloped roof,” she said. “And so, you know, the decision was made to secure the building, from inside.”
On Monday, Rep. Pat Fallon (R-TX) asked Cheatle during her testimony before House lawmakers if the Secret Service had a policy on sloped roofs. Cheatle replied that the agency did not.
Fallon noted that there were counter snipers posted at the rally on a roof with a steeper slope than the rooftop where there were no law enforcement personnel.
Cheatle has faced calls to resign over the assassination attempt, with lawmakers demanding answers on how the shooter was able to get so close to Trump and why law enforcement did not take Crooks into custody when he was spotted on the rooftop 20 minutes before the shooting.
RELATED: Secret Service Boss Explains Why No One Was Stationed On Roof Where Gunman Shot At Trump
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