The Secret Service agent responsible for former President Donald Trump's rally in Butler, Pa., on July 13 "was known to be incompetent" and "failed a key examination during their federal law enforcement training," new whistleblowers have alleged, which was released by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.).
Whistleblowers have claimed that the agent set up "flags around the Butler stage and catwalk, impairing visibility," even though such items are "typically prohibited because of how they affected the line-of-sight of those agents responsible for identifying threats," according to a 21-page report released by Sen. Josh Hawley on Monday. This came as Trump survived a second assassination attempt on Sunday at his Florida home.
Shocking Allegations
The allegations also suggest that Secret Service intelligence units were "absent from the Butler rally," which could have "mitigated" the communication breakdown that occurred just minutes before Trump, 78, took the stage and was shot in the right ear by a would-be assassin.
"The hospital site where former President Trump received treatment after the shooting was poorly secured," the report also states. "The Secret Service site agent responsible for hospital security did not know what was going on and could not answer basic questions about site security."
The allegation comes as the former president was quickly moved to safety on Sunday after several shots were fired near him while he was golfing at his club in West Palm Beach.
Gunman Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was arrested after a brief chase.
Authorities revealed that a U.S. Secret Service (USSS) agent saw a rifle barrel sticking out of a chain-link fence from behind some bushes, just two holes ahead of Trump's location on the golf course. This led the agent to open fire on the suspect.
The suspect, Routh, fled into his vehicle from the brush, but a witness managed to capture a photo of his black Nissan SUV and its license plate.
Routh, a construction worker with a criminal background, also allegedly left behind ceramic body armor plates designed to protect against gunfire.
Palm Beach Sheriff Ric Bradshaw told reporters that the witness provided the license plate number and later confirmed to law enforcement that the individual in custody was indeed the person seen escaping the scene.
Secret Service Failure
Routh has a criminal record in North Carolina, including charges from 2002 for 'weapon law violations' and 'terrorist threats,' as noted in public records widely circulated on social media.
A nearly two-minute video from 2022 surfaced on Sunday following Routh's identification as a suspect. In the clip, he is interviewed by News Week Romania about his efforts to recruit fighters for Ukraine in its conflict with Russia.
"This is definitely evil against good," Routh said in the video where he was wearing an American Flag patterned t-shirt.
Routh has donated to Democratic candidates and liberal causes since 2019. From September 2019 to March 2020, he contributed over $140 through the Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records.
His LinkedIn profile indicates that he attended North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and moved to Hawaii around 2018.
On LinkedIn, Routh is described as "mechanically inclined" with a passion for "ideas, invention, and creative projects with an artistic touch."
His social media account featured a mix of incoherent tweets and responses, while also showing staunch support for Ukraine in its conflict with Russia and for Taiwan in its fight against China.
In one reply to X's owner, Elon Musk, he even suggested the idea of buying a rocket from the billionaire.
"I would like to buy a rocket from you. I wish to load it with a warhead for Putin's Black Sea mansion bunker to end him. Can you give me a price please. It can be old and used as not returning," Routh wrote.
He wrote on X that he tried to "sell" the idea of having former Afghan soldiers join the fight for Ukraine against Russia but was turned down multiple times before abandoning the idea after six months.
He also said that he visited Kyiv and expressed his willingness to join the frontlines if given the opportunity.
