Assassination Fail!

By Allyson Dix

Jobe Publishing, Inc.

 

Gunfire erupted on Saturday, July 13 in an attempted assassination of President Donald Trump while he was speaking during a campaign stop in Butler, Pennsylvania, just days before he accepted the Republican nomination for president for the third time.

The assassination attempt of the former president was broadcast live both on national television and multiple online streaming platforms when Trump was struck on his upper right ear, which he later confirmed in a statement on his social media platform, Truth Social.

After the first gunshot, Trump grabbed his right ear before ducking behind the podium on stage. At least six more gunshots can be heard immediately after. United States Secret Service, who are being widely criticized over the response and preparation of the event, rushed to surround the 45^th president while he was on the stage floor before escorting him off stage.

Moments later, in perhaps a historical moment and one that assured his supporters he was alive, Trump arose from the agents barricading him and pumped his fist into the air several times saying, “Fight, fight, fight.” He would later turn and do the same before getting into his SUV motorcade. Trump has long announced his support in fighting against the destruction of the nation, but has maintained so without calling for violence.

“I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin. Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening,” Trump said in his statement. He was released from a local hospital hours after the shooting took place.

The FBI later identified the suspected gunman at the rally as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, about 40 miles from Butler, also confirming he was killed in a counter-response.

In video footage from both personal accounts and media outlets, rally attendees tried to warn police after spotting the suspect.

One witness, who said he watched the gunman “bear crawling up the roof” of a building nearby with a rifle, told BBC News, “There’s a guy on the roof with a rifle, and the police were like, what, you know, like they didn’t know what was going on…I’m standing there pointing at him for, you know, two or three minutes. Secret service is looking at us from the top of a barn, I’m pointing at that roof…and next thing you know five shots ring out.”

The witness also questioned why no Secret Service was already on the roof, as are many others, especially given the shooter made it within approximately 150 yards of President Trump.

One spectator was killed and at least two others were critically injured in the assassination attempt.

Corey Comperatore, 50, a former firefighter, husband, and father of two daughters, died after he shielded his family from the gunfire.

According to media reports, law enforcement said Crooks was reported by a bystander, identified as a suspicious person by police, but officers lost track of him before the shooting began.

As of press time, a motive for Crooks’ attempt at ending Trump’s life has not been identified; however, police say he also had material to make explosives in his vehicle.

The current president, Joe Biden, as well as many other leaders across the nation, have condemned the violence that occurred.

Trump’s wife, Melania, released a statement the next day.

“When I watched that violent bullet strike my husband, Donald, I realized my life, and Barron’s life, were on the brink of devastating change,” Melania Trump said. “…The core facets of my husband’s life–his human side– were buried below the political machine.”

She also offered comforting words and encouragement for Americans, highlighting the importance of how love, compassion, kindness, and empathy over the political divides the country is deeply entangled in.

Trump announced afterward that despite consideration of delaying his attendance at the Republican National Convention, he was attending as originally scheduled and did so.

The federal ATF, USSS, and FBI departments as well as state and local law enforcement are investigating the shooting.

Four sitting presidents have been assassinated in the nation’s history: Abraham Lincoln (1865), James A. Garfield (1881), William McKinley (1901), and John F. Kennedy (1963). Other presidential assassination attempts in addition to Trump include Ronald Reagan in 1982 and Theodore Roosevelt in 1912. After Roosevelt was shot in the chest, he went on to give a speech for 84 minutes before allowing medical treatment for his wound.

The potential 47^th President of the United States said on Sunday, while also sending his condolences to the victims’ families, “…it was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening. We will FEAR NOT, but instead remain resilient in our Faith and Defiant in the face of Wickedness.”

FBI Updates

FBI Press Release – July 15, 2024

The FBI continues to investigate the shooting incident at the July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, as an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump and as potential domestic terrorism. The investigation is still in the early stages, and the FBI is providing the following updates:

• FBI technical specialists successfully gained access to Thomas Matthew Crooks’ phone, and they continue to analyze his electronic devices.
• The search of the subject’s residence and vehicle are complete.
• The FBI has conducted nearly 100 interviews of law enforcement personnel, event attendees, and other witnesses. That work continues.
• The FBI has received hundreds of digital media tips which include photos and videos taken at the scene, and we continue to review incoming tips. We encourage anyone with information that may assist with the ongoing investigation to continue to submit it online at tips.fbi.gov or call 1-800-CALL-FBI.
• While the investigative work continues, FBI victim services personnel have offered assistance to the victims of Saturday’s incident.

The FBI investigation is being led by the FBI’s Pittsburgh Field Office in coordination with our local, state, and federal partners.

Previous official statements about this incident can be found at fbi.gov/news/press-releases/fbi-statement-on-incident-in-butler-pennsylvania.