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Drone Dial: Agent Responsible for Drone in Butler Had Just One Hour Informal Training, Had to Call Tech Support: Report

By Eric Bolling Staff

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 22: A photograph of Former President Donald Trump by Associated Press photographer Evan Vucci is seen as United Sates Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle testifies before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee during a hearing at the Rayburn House Office Building on July 22, 2024 in Washington, DC. The beleaguered leader of the United States Secret Service has vowed cooperation with all investigations into the agency following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. (Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)

A preliminary report on the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Trump from the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs highlights several missteps on behalf of the Secret Service, including one undertrained agent having to call tech support for drone assistance.

“Among the key failures, an agent inexperienced with drone equipment called a toll-free tech support hotline for help after a request ahead of time for additional unmanned assets was denied, according to a preliminary summary of findings made public Wednesday. According to the committee, he had just an hour of informal training with the device,” The New York Post reports.

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“Multiple foreseeable and preventable planning and operational failures by USSS contributed to [Thomas] Crooks’ ability to carry out the assassination attempt of former President Trump on July 13,” the preliminary report read. “These included unclear roles and responsibilities, insufficient coordination with state and local law enforcement, the lack of effective communications, and inoperable C-UAS systems, among many others.”

“We have reviewed the interim report on the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. The weight of our mission is not lost on us and in this hyperdynamic threat environment, the U.S. Secret Service cannot fail. Many of the insights gained from the Senate report align with the findings from our mission assurance review and are essential to ensuring that what happened on July 13 never happens again,” U.S. Secret Service Chief of Communications Anthony Guglielmi responded Wednesday.

“Shortly before shots were fired, a USSS counter sniper saw local law enforcement running toward the AGR building with their guns drawn, but he did not alert former President Trump’s protective detail to remove him from the stage,” the committee revealed in the 94-page report. “The USSS counter sniper told the Committee that while seeing officers with their guns drawn ‘elevated’ the threat level, the thought to notify someone to get Trump off the stage ‘did not cross [his] mind.’”

Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn says the Secret Service is starting to sound more like the “Keystone Cops.”

“A new Senate report on the attempt to assassinate President Trump in Butler revealed a Secret Service employee was on a toll-free support line during the rally to figure out how to operate a drone. The Secret Service is acting like the Keystone Cops,” Blackburn posted on X.

More over at The New York Post:

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