Donald Trump Announces Return to Butler, Pennsylvania, After Shooting
President Donald Trump has announced plans to hold a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where his attempted assassination took place less than two weeks ago.
Trump suffered a wound to his right ear, while attendee Corey Comperatore was killed and two others suffered serious injuries after gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire during a campaign rally in the small Pennsylvania city on July 13.
In an all-caps post to Truth Social on Friday, Trump announced that he would soon be holding another campaign event in the same city to “honor” former volunteer firefighter Comperatore and the two “brave patriots” who were injured in the shooting.
Trump announced in a subsequent Truth Social post that the two July 13 rally attendees who were seriously injured are expected to appear at the next rally in Butler.
“Both James Copenhaver and David Dutch, two Great Patriots who were seriously injured at the big Rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, are making wonderful progress,” wrote Trump. “We will be seeing them and their Families at our soon to be scheduled next Butler Rally!”
While the exact location and date of the rally has not yet been announced, a return to the site of the shooting, the outdoor Butler Farm Show grounds, may be unlikely. The Trump campaign has reportedly agreed to stop holding large outdoor events following a request from the Secret Service.
Tuesday that the Security Service had previously “communicated their concerns about large outdoor rallies going forward to Trump campaign advisers,” citing “three people familiar with the matter.”
The Trump campaign reportedly agreed to the request and was focusing its efforts on scouting large indoor venues for future rallies, while “not currently planning any large outdoor events.”
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned her position on Tuesday morning after being grilled by lawmakers over the security failures that led to the shooting during an intense House hearing on the previous day.
Meanwhile, FBI Director Christopher Wray raised eyebrows and the ire of Trump after suggesting during House testimony later in the week that there was still “some question about whether or not it’s a bullet or shrapnel” that struck the former president.
A report from The New York Times on Thursday said that the FBI was seeking an interview with Trump “as part of its broader investigation” into the shooting. Identifying the type of projectile that hit Trump, which may be a bullet or metal fragment from a bullet, is reportedly not the primary objective of the investigation.
An FBI statement shared to X, formerly Twitter, by Fox News host Bret Baier said the following on Friday evening: “What struck former President Trump in the ear was a bullet, whether whole or fragmented into smaller pieces, fired from the deceased subject’s rifle.”
Trump responded minutes later on Truth Social: “I assume that’s the best apology that we’ll get from Director Wray, but it is fully accepted!”
While Republicans quickly moved to blame the assassination attempt on anti-Trump rhetoric from Democrats, authorities have not yet uncovered Crooks’ motive and it is unclear whether partisan politics played any role.
An investigation has so far revealed that Crooks, who was a registered Republican but once made a small donation to a progressive group, searched online for both Trump and President Joe Biden prior to the shooting, along with the time and location of the upcoming Democratic National Convention.
