Concerns have arisen over the security arrangements for former President Donald Trump during his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. Recent information from Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) reveals that most of the agents assigned to protect Trump were Homeland Security personnel with minimal training.

According to Hawley, a whistleblower has disclosed that these agents, who typically handle other duties, were trained through a brief online webinar that experienced significant technical difficulties. The training, lasting just two hours, was riddled with issues like malfunctioning audio and repeated video restarts. The whistleblower described the session as “not substantive” and left agents poorly prepared for their high-stakes assignment.

On the day of the rally, Trump was targeted by Thomas Crooks, a 20-year-old who fired eight rounds from a rooftop, injuring Trump and two attendees, and killing retired fire chief Corey Comperatore. Hawley criticized the decision to deploy inadequately trained agents, suggesting their lack of experience contributed to the severity of the incident.

Hawley has demanded answers from Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe, questioning why security was not bolstered by more experienced agents. Despite the intelligence community’s warnings of an Iranian plot against Trump, the response included only minimal adjustments to security measures, according to critics.

In response, the Secret Service has come under scrutiny for initially misrepresenting the incident. Reports later revealed that a local SWAT operator, not a Secret Service sniper, fired the critical shot that stopped Crooks.