Americans knew there was something fishy going on behind the scenes. But this is scary.
And now Secret Service confessed to putting Trump in the crosshairs.
The Secret Service is facing serious questions after a whistleblower from local law enforcement revealed that agents allegedly claimed they would secure the rooftop where a gunman targeted former President Donald Trump during his July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
A local officer involved in securing the event has come forward with troubling details, according to Rep. Cory Mills, a Florida Republican leading an independent GOP investigation into what appears to be a major security failure.
“The Secret Service said they were covering that roof,” Rep. Mills told The Washington Times.
Mills, along with other GOP colleagues, is leading the charge to get to the bottom of what went wrong. He plans to hold a public forum featuring testimony from the whistleblower, who works in a local Emergency Service Unit (ESU) that provided security at the rally.
“The new whistleblower we have is actually on one of the ESU teams, and he’ll be able to paint a different picture of why it wasn’t the ESU, but it was actually the Secret Service who determined the perimeter bubble,” Mills said.
This revelation raises serious concerns about the Secret Service’s handling of the event. The shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, managed to climb onto the rooftop of the AGR building near the rally site, using HVAC equipment and a pipe, before firing multiple rounds.
Crooks hit Trump in the ear and killed a rallygoer while injuring two others before being shot and killed by a Secret Service sniper.
Despite this tragic event, Rep. Mills’ investigation suggests there may have been crucial security assets that were offered by local law enforcement but rejected by the Secret Service.
“We know that they refused the surveillance drone capabilities, we know they refused compatible communications,” Mills noted.
These revelations are prompting questions about the competence and reliability of the agencies tasked with protecting Trump. Given the severity of the situation, Mills and his colleagues—including Reps. Eli Crane, Andy Biggs, Matt Gaetz, and Chip Roy—are determined to expose the truth.
Mills’ group has already held one public forum, featuring testimony from a SWAT officer who worked at the rally and a former Secret Service agent. Now, the whistleblower’s testimony will be crucial in shining a light on the questionable decisions made that day.
Mills’ group was formed out of frustration after he and Crane, the only members of Congress with sniper training, were left off the official House task force investigating the assassination attempt. Despite being sidelined, Mills’ independent group is sharing its findings with the task force, which has subpoena power to dig deeper.
“This isn’t trying to run an independent investigation where we hold information,” Mills emphasized. “We just want to basically put the pressure on them to do what’s necessary to be able to get answers.”
The House task force, meanwhile, is preparing to release an interim report on its Butler investigation, with a public hearing scheduled for Thursday.
The hearing is expected to focus on the Secret Service’s reliance on state and local law enforcement, a critical issue given the failures revealed by the whistleblower.
Adding to the pressure, the task force and Mills’ group are also investigating a second assassination attempt against Trump, which occurred just days ago in West Palm Beach, Florida. In this case, a gunman armed with an SKS-style rifle was stopped by the Secret Service before he could fire any shots.
Mills pointed to the similarities between the Butler and Florida incidents, highlighting the failure to secure the perimeter.
“It shows two vital-like errors, which is the fact that they don’t clear their perimeter,” Mills said. The Florida would-be assassin was just 500 yards away—well within the rifle’s range.
Mills expressed more confidence in Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is leading an independent investigation into the latest attempt on Trump’s life. Many Republicans, including Mills, have voiced skepticism about the FBI and Secret Service’s ability to conduct a thorough and honest investigation into either incident.
As security failures continue to mount, it’s clear that more scrutiny is needed to protect Trump from future threats. Mills and his team are committed to holding the responsible parties accountable and ensuring that nothing like this happens again.
Stay tuned to The Federalist Wire.