The following excerpt is taken from the new book &#8220;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Butler-Untold-Assassination-Americas-Heartland/dp/1546009140/ref=sr_1_1?crid=38ZQJ31BTXE78&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.yBjqsViUcuzSmJ0JQfFO_9pbEehSi-8OfBIfkv9uv-Eg2YesGVnshEb31LRcm_VyNV90yUlv9buV5-Eg4h3ANjvLeboA5BuUjGHF1yBXHxfXZoSn8Vchp7NkJJKFCPPN0JdICFPkw8GWPPCc2BBMMPqe_qSkBWh_hh_CkKUxGhVJA_Ayn3SjyWBemTcvmDq42l4iaEdSi5Ih0Lab_rtq0w.UQCO-toWBwgEMYzS_IK8UvoFWqL6oOP4CgnKEYfwSsE&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=salena+zito+butler&amp;qid=1751464363&amp;sprefix=salena+zito+butle%2Caps%2C170&amp;sr=8-1">Butler: The Untold Story of the Near Assassination of Donald Trump and the Fight for America&#8217;s Heartland,&#8221;</a> by Salena Zito (July 2025, Center Street/Hachette Book Group)
* * *
<h3>They Shoot Presidents in Butler</h3>
George Washington was less than pleased.
It was December 26, 1753, well past dusk and the temperature had dropped dramatically as darkness fell. Thanks to the drop in temperature, the mix of sleet and snow would make travel perilous in the deeply forested wilderness of what is now present-day Butler County.
But Washington and his guide Christopher Gist were left with little choice; they had to move, and move quickly.
They needed to make their way to the forks of the Ohio River. Days later, Washington, then a young major in the Virginia militia, would write in his journal that fear coursed through his veins and spurred the urgency of their flight after he was nearly killed by an assassin’s bullet that whizzed past his ear just hours earlier.
Both he and Gist knew his assassin would be back to finish the job.
<div id="attachment_942151" style="width: 417px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/salena-zito/butler/9781668649909/?lens=center-street"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-942151" class="wp-image-942151 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MixCollage-02-Jul-2025-09-02-AM-8755-407x576.jpg" alt="Cover credit: Center Street/Hachette Book Group" width="407" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MixCollage-02-Jul-2025-09-02-AM-8755-407x576.jpg 407w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MixCollage-02-Jul-2025-09-02-AM-8755-212x300.jpg 212w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MixCollage-02-Jul-2025-09-02-AM-8755-768x1086.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MixCollage-02-Jul-2025-09-02-AM-8755-1086x1536.jpg 1086w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MixCollage-02-Jul-2025-09-02-AM-8755-1448x2048.jpg 1448w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MixCollage-02-Jul-2025-09-02-AM-8755-scaled.jpg 1810w" sizes="(max-width: 407px) 100vw, 407px" /></a>Cover credit: Center Street/Hachette Book Group</div>
At twenty-one years old, Washington was on his first diplomatic mission, with direct orders from the Crown tucked in his saddlebag to basically tell the French to get off King George II’s land or face war with England.
In 1753, the British and French Empires were in the early stages of clashing over their colonial possessions. Britain’s North American colonies were mostly packed along the Atlantic coastline and then moved westward toward the Allegheny Mountains.
France’s colonial holdings were in the center spine of the country that began in New Orleans and ran up along the Mississippi River into the Great Lakes region toward the St. Lawrence River. Both empires claimed control of the vast expanse of what was then known as the Ohio Country, which began in present-day western Pennsylvania and West Virginia and spread due west across the states of Ohio and Indiana.
Washington was at the center of that clash of royal aspirations, which were largely spurred by greed in the form of an immense royal grant to the Ohio Company, whose largest investor was Robert Dinwiddie, Virginia’s royal (lieutenant) governor and the man who sent Washington on the mission.
The young Virginian’s destination was Fort Le Boeuf, just fifteen miles south of Lake Erie. In Washington’s possession was a note from London, signed by King George II, that read: “If the French were found to be building forts on English soil, they should be peacefully asked to depart. If they failed to comply, however, we do hereby strictly charge and command you to drive them off by force of arms.”
The trip from Virginia had been a daunting 250 miles of untouched wilderness. It involved scaling high ice-crusted ridges, slogging through thick brush, swamps, and dense forests with mounds of heavy snow, and navigating icy waterways. The journey was as difficult as one could imagine, not just because of the terrain but also because of a weather system that had pummeled Washington and Gist the entire way.
Washington arrived at Fort Le Boeuf on December 11. The fort system was rudimentary at best, made of scrap bark and planks and consisting of four buildings. The young soldier and French commander Capt. Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre had a cordial, diplomatic conversation despite Washington’s delivery of the Crown’s demand that the French vacate the Ohio Valley immediately.
Saint-Pierre made clear that he was not intimidated by the British and retained every right to arrest their traders who were poaching on French territory. “As to the summons you sent me to retire, I do not think myself obliged to obey it.”
Four days later, Saint-Pierre handed Washington a sealed message for Dinwiddie. It was then that Washington discovered that, although Saint-Pierre had filled Washington’s canoe with a generous amount of supplies for the journey home, the French commander had also bribed Washington’s Indian guides with food and drink to stay behind.
Washington was furious. He had not only been deceived by Saint-Pierre; he had also observed enough during his four-day wait for the commander to respond to Dinwiddie to know that France was building a large-scale fort system throughout the disputed territory. He also observed that they were building a formidable military operation, which was prepared to defend the land the French would take over.
Washington and Gist set off, anxious to deliver the news to Dinwiddie. However, their horses were so debilitated by the journey to Fort Le Boeuf that the men had to abandon them and continue on foot.
On the journey toward the outpost known as Murdering Town (in present-day Butler), they were heavily burdened by their backpacks. Along the way, they encountered several French Indians who quickly — probably too quickly, in hindsight — offered to help get them to the forks of the Ohio River. The battering snow and sleet, freezing cold, and rough terrain had worn Washington down, and when one of the Indian guides offered to carry his backpack, he took him up on it.
Gist, a skilled surveyor and frontier guide, immediately sensed something was off about the situation. He wasn’t wrong. As soon as the group came to a clearing, one of the Indians sprinted ahead of them into a meadow and then turned to face the two men before firing point-blank at Washington from fifteen paces.
The exact amount by which the French-aligned Indian missed Washington is unclear. Washington’s diary entry is vague, but the intent was obvious. The Indian guide wanted the young Virginian dead.
If muskets had contained rifling — grooves inside the barrel to make a bullet travel more accurately — 270 years ago, everything in the world would have changed at that moment.
There would have been no skirmish several months later in present-day Fayette County, Pennsylvania, between Washington’s regiment and French soldiers — a skirmish that led to the first shots fired in what would quickly escalate into the French and Indian War. It was a war that ultimately led to the Revolutionary War, when the British Crown tried to tax the colonists to pay for debt incurred during the first true world war.
There would have been no General Washington, no President Washington, and we might not have the country we call America today if that bullet had been only an inch closer.
* * *
Salena Zito is a veteran political reporter with more than twenty years of award-winning experience in print and broadcast journalism. With her trusty Jeeps that have clocked well over 400,000 miles on their odometers and a refusal to travel on interstates, Zito is a reporter who harkens to an older generation of journalism, one who listens to the stories of everyday Americans in places far outside the artificial bubbles of Manhattan and the Beltway. One of the last scribes of middle America, she famously popularized the root cause of their failed coverage and underestimation of Donald Trump by the phrase coined by Brad Todd saying, “The press takes him literally, but not seriously; his supporters take him seriously, but not literally.” Zito is a national political reporter for the Washington Examiner, and a special contributor to the Washington Post. She has been a columnist for the New York Post and has contributed to The Atlantic, the Wall Street Journal and the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
Excerpted from &#8220;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Butler-Untold-Assassination-Americas-Heartland/dp/1546009140/ref=sr_1_1?crid=38ZQJ31BTXE78&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.yBjqsViUcuzSmJ0JQfFO_9pbEehSi-8OfBIfkv9uv-Eg2YesGVnshEb31LRcm_VyNV90yUlv9buV5-Eg4h3ANjvLeboA5BuUjGHF1yBXHxfXZoSn8Vchp7NkJJKFCPPN0JdICFPkw8GWPPCc2BBMMPqe_qSkBWh_hh_CkKUxGhVJA_Ayn3SjyWBemTcvmDq42l4iaEdSi5Ih0Lab_rtq0w.UQCO-toWBwgEMYzS_IK8UvoFWqL6oOP4CgnKEYfwSsE&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=salena+zito+butler&amp;qid=1751464363&amp;sprefix=salena+zito+butle%2Caps%2C170&amp;sr=8-1">Butler,</a>&#8221; by Salena Zito. (Copyright 2025) Used with permission from Center Street, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA – July 13: Former president Donald Trump r

They Shoot Presidents In Butler

assassination attempt

Books

Butler

George Washington

Pennsylvania

Presidency

President Trump

The House task force investigating the multiple attempts to assassinate President-elect Donald Trump released its <a href="https://taskforce.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/july13taskforce.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/12-5-2024-Final-Report-Redacted.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">final report</a> on Tuesday, finding that the attack on Trump during a campaign rally at Butler, Pennsylvania, was entirely preventable.
The task force said that the July 13 assassination attempt by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks was enabled by a number of errors leading up to the rally and the day of the attack. These mistakes included failing to secure the rally site, technological issues, and a “fragmented” communication structure. 
“The Task Force found that the tragic and shocking events in Butler, Pennsylvania were preventable and should not have happened,” the 180-page report said. “The various failures in planning, execution, and leadership on and before July 13, 2024, and the preexisting conditions that undermined the effectiveness of the human and material assets deployed that day, coalesced to create an environment in which the former President—and everyone at the campaign event—were exposed to grave danger.”
These failures led to Trump being shot in the ear, two rally attendees being shot, and 50-year-old Corey Comperatore being killed. Many of the findings of the final report mirror the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-finds-secret-service-responsible-for-preventable-trump-assassination-attempt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interim report</a> the task force released in October.
The bipartisan panel was first formed on July 25 to investigate the Butler attack but was later given authority to expand its investigation to include the second attempt on Trump’s life in Florida on September 15. In that incident, a man hid in the bushes with a gun outside the Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach. 
After noticing the man in the bushes, a Secret Service agent opened fire and the man fled. Ryan Routh, the man accused in that attack, was arrested and is currently awaiting trial. 
&#8220;Conversely, the events that transpired on September 15, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Florida, demonstrated how properly executed protective measures can foil an attempted assassination,” the report said, comparing the two situations. 
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Led by Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA), the committee visited West Palm Beach on November 16 as part of its probe. The lawmakers added that multiple federal agencies <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-shooting-task-force-says-dhs-secret-service-havent-produced-docs-golf-course-incident" target="_blank" rel="noopener">had yet </a>to provide them with information on a second assassination attempt.
“The Task Force notes that as of the date of publication of this report, DHS, USSS, FBI, and ATF have not produced any documents responsive to the Task Force’s requests regarding the preparation for, events of, and response to the second assassination attempt that occurred on September 15,” the lawmakers wrote. 
Other reports from the Senate and an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/investigators-warn-another-butler-can-and-will-happen-without-secret-service-reform" target="_blank" rel="noopener">independent panel</a> created by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas have found the Secret Service at fault for the Butler rally.

Secret Service Thwart Apparent Assassination Attempt On Former President Donald Trump At West Palm Beach Golf Club

FBI, DHS Have Yet To Provide Docs On 2nd Trump Assassination Attempt

Congress

Donald Trump

Florida

Politics

Secret Service

Thomas Matthew Crooks

Acting <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/secret-service" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Secret Service</a> Director Ronald Rowe is set to testify Thursday morning before a House task force investigating the attempted assassination of President-elect Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
Rowe will be questioned by a 13-member independent panel that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-finds-secret-service-responsible-for-preventable-trump-assassination-attempt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released a report</a> in October finding the Secret Service responsible for the “preventable” attempt on Trump’s life. Rowe is expected to tell lawmakers that disciplinary actions are being taken for the lapses that allowed 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks to get within 150 yards of Trump and shoot him in the ear during a rally in Butler on July 13.
&#8220;Employees receiving proposals of discipline will be provided due process under agency policy as well as any applicable laws and regulations. But, let me be clear, there will be accountability, and that accountability is occurring,” Rowe will say, <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/accountability-occurring-us-secret-service-director-house-panel/story?id=116467833" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to a copy of his prepared remarks shared with ABC. “Consistent with applicable laws and regulations, I cannot comment further on specific disciplinary actions underway or being considered.&#8221;
Rowe will also say that the agency has made several major changes to securing locations, including more coordination with law enforcement partners. At the Butler rally, numerous communication errors delayed law enforcement&#8217;s response to Crooks, who had been identified as a person of interest more than an hour before he opened fire. 
&#8220;My goal is to improve our mission effectiveness and rebuild public trust,&#8221; according to Rowe&#8217;s written testimony. &#8220;One of the key systemic changes was the directive to mandate a unified command in a singular location for all protective sites, something that was not done on July 13th in Butler. This co-location enhances our communications and intelligence-sharing mechanisms with state, local and federal partners to better anticipate threats and respond to them more swiftly.&#8221;
Other changes implemented, according to a <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/trump-assassination-attempt-secret-service-acting-director-reveals-numerous-changes-agency-has-implemented" target="_blank" rel="noopener">copy</a> of his remarks shared with Fox News, included using more drones, ensuring radios are in order, and increasing staffing levels for agents protecting Trump.
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Rowe’s prepared testimony says the Butler rally, where Trump was shot, supporter Corey Comperatore was killed, and two other rallygoers were injured, exposed &#8220;critical gaps” in the Secret Service’s operations and was an &#8220;abject failure.&#8221; 
&#8220;July 13th was a failure of the Secret Service to adequately secure the Butler Farm Show site and protect President-elect Trump,&#8221; Rowe is expected to say. &#8220;While I cannot undo the harm that has been done, I am committed to doing everything in my power to ensure that the Secret Service never has a failure like this again.&#8221;
In its report, the House panel faulted the Secret Service for failing to secure the roof from where Crooks fired at Trump and setting up a security perimeter that allowed people to get within around 150 yards of the stage where Trump was speaking without going through security screening. 
Investigations by both the Senate and an independent panel formed by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas have also found the Secret Service liable for the attack.

Secret Service Director To Promise ‘Accountability’ Over ‘Abject Failure’ At Butler Rally

assassination

U.S. House of Representatives

A male <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/pennsylvania" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pennsylvania</a> Democrat &#8212; who uses she/her pronouns &#8212; was arrested after he allegedly said he would like to shoot former President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a> ahead of a rally at Pennsylvania State University.
The 74-year-old resident, Paul J. Gavenonis, was reportedly overheard saying he’d like to shoot Trump while he was purchasing a parking pass at the university transportation office ahead of Trump’s rally on Saturday at the college, the <a href="https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/national-politics/article294658904.html">Lexington Herald Leader</a> reported.
The staff member at the transportation office became alarmed by his comments and called the police.
According to the university police, the registered Democrat described how he planned to climb to the top of one of the buildings and said, “You can’t take a gun in or the students will see it,” the outlet noted. He was also quoted allegedly saying, “I hate Donald Trump. I’d like to shoot that guy.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Another “white dude for Harris”
Paul J Gavenonis arrested for allegedly threatening to kiII Trump. He was allegedly overheard saying &#8220;I’d like to shoot that guy&#8221; ahead of Trump&#8217;s Penn State rally.
Gavenonis was charged with making t*rr*ristic threats and disorderly conduct. <a href="https://t.co/E1L0RIREHx">pic.twitter.com/E1L0RIREHx</a>
— PNW Conservative (@UnderWashington) <a href="https://twitter.com/UnderWashington/status/1851331113643622502?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 29, 2024</a></blockquote>
The man was then interviewed by both Penn State police and the Secret Service, where police quoted him as saying, “Frankly, I hope somebody would get him.&#8221; After his arrest, he reportedly admitted to the police that he had a rifle at his home.
Gavenonis was charged with misdemeanor counts of terroristic threats and disorderly conduct, the outlet noted.
He was arraigned on Friday by District Judge Steven Lachman, who denied bail for Gavenonis. The Democrat is currently incarcerated at the Centre County Correctional Facility, the outlet noted. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, October 30.
Gavenonis&#8217; arrest follows two assassination attempts against Trump in the last few months of the 2024 campaign, as The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-encounters-with-death-have-only-hardened-my-resolve">reported</a>.
In September, the former president was targeted in an apparent assassination attempt, when a 58-year-old man hid out for 12 hours near Trump’s golf course in Florida, allegedly to take a shot at him.
The assassination attempt came just two months after Trump was on stage at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13 when a gunman opened fire, hitting him in the ear, killing one Trump supporter, and injuring two others at the rally.
20-year-old shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire, hitting Trump in the side of the head, killing rally-goer Corey Comperatore, and injuring two others, Jim Copenhaver and David Dutch.
A Secret Service sniper shot and killed Crooks while other personnel rushed to protect Trump and escort him off the stage.
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/secret-service-director-resigns-amid-uproar-over-trump-assassination-attempt">resigned</a> after the shooting, one day after testifying before the House as she faced backlash over the security failure underlying the Trump rally shooting.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas then <a href="https://x.com/ZcohenCNN/status/1815782978544431366">announced</a> that Ronald Rowe, the Secret Service’s deputy director, would become acting director.
Rowe said it was clear to him that “other protective enhancements could have strengthened our security” at the rally and listed some directives he made, as previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/acting-secret-service-director-says-he-cannot-defend-security-lapse-in-trump-rally-shooting">reported</a>.
Daniel Chaitin contributed to this piece.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/911-calls-released-from-trump-butler-assassination-attempt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">911 Calls Released From Trump Butler Assassination Attempt</a>

Donald Trump Injured During Shooting At Campaign Rally In Butler, PA

Democrat Man — Who Uses She/Her Pronouns — Arrested For Allegedly Threatening To Kill Trump

Democrat Man -- Who Uses She/Her Pronouns -- Arrested For Allegedly Threatening To Kill Trump

Crime

Democrats

Penn State

Transgender

U.S.

The 911 calls were finally released from the first <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-finds-secret-service-responsible-for-preventable-trump-assassination-attempt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">assassination attempt</a> of former President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a> at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.
In the first audio clips given to <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/first-audio-911-calls-trump-assassination-attempt-rcna176757" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NBC News</a> and other news outlets &#8212; which had threatened to sue the county to get the public records &#8212; callers explained that the president had been shot after a gunman opened fire, hitting him in the ear, killing one Trump supporter, and injuring two others at the rally.
The 15 recordings came in between 6:12 p.m. and 6:47 p.m., with the first caller, a woman, exclaiming, “Gunshots at the Trump rally. Gunshots-”
“Yep,” the emergency dispatcher replied. “The police are on the way there.”
“Better get over here quick!” she added.
Another person said, &#8220;We’re at the Trump assembly and there’s a guy shooting. He’s been shooting up the place.”
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amiracist.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1729077615157000&amp;usg=AOvVaw17Kprl74oE9DYOLREdiBPU">MATT WALSH’S ‘AM I RACIST?’ COMING TO DAILYWIRE+ OCT. 28</a>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Butler County releases 911 calls from shooting at July Trump rally <a href="https://t.co/3Dh2Ul3VLB">https://t.co/3Dh2Ul3VLB</a>
— WPXI (@WPXI) <a href="https://twitter.com/WPXI/status/1849220529053450520?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 23, 2024</a></blockquote>
A series of other calls to the emergency center came in with screaming in the background, <a href="https://www.wpxi.com/news/local/butler-county-releases-911-calls-shooting-july-trump-rally/BEEYHWTP7ZCKJKIUXTJAC5XIVA/">WPXI</a> reported.
“The Butler Fair is getting shot up,” one person told the 911 operator.
Another said, “We’re at the Butler Farm Show Grounds. We need assistance now!”
While another caller told an emergency dispatcher, “They just tried to kill President Trump. You might want to make a note of that. Thank you.”
20-year-old shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire, hitting Trump in the side of the head, killing rally-goer Corey Comperatore, and injuring two others, Jim Copenhaver and David Dutch.
A Secret Service sniper shot and killed Crooks while other personnel rushed to protect Trump and escort him off the stage.
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/secret-service-director-resigns-amid-uproar-over-trump-assassination-attempt">resigned</a> after the shooting, one day after testifying before the House as she faced backlash over the security failure underlying the Trump rally shooting.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas then <a href="https://x.com/ZcohenCNN/status/1815782978544431366">announced</a> that Ronald Rowe, the Secret Service’s deputy director, would become acting director.
Rowe said it was clear to him that “other protective enhancements could have strengthened our security” at the rally and listed some directives he made, as previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/acting-secret-service-director-says-he-cannot-defend-security-lapse-in-trump-rally-shooting">reported</a>.
The acting director said he ordered the “expanded” use of drones to detect elevated threats and directed resources to “facilitate” communications, particularly with state and local partners.
Rowe said he directed protective detail requests to be approved “expeditiously” and ordered the “maximum use” of requested personnel at protective sites to address “this heightened security environment.”
Daniel Chaitin contributed to this piece.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-gets-candid-about-return-to-butler-assassination-attempts-and-more-on-flagrant-podcast" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump Gets Candid About Return To Butler, Assassination Attempts, And More On ‘Flagrant’ Podcast</a>

TOPSHOT-US-POLITICS-VOTE

911 Calls Released From Trump Butler Assassination Attempt

House lawmakers tasked with investigating the attempted assassination of former President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a> in Pennsylvania said Monday that the attack never would have happened had the Secret Service been prepared.
The House Task Force on the July 13 assassination attempt in Butler released a 53-page <a href="https://taskforce.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/july13taskforce.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/task-force-interim-staff-report-10.21.2024.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interim report</a> detailing the “stunning security failures” that led to Trump being struck in the ear by a bullet fired by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. These failures included numerous communication errors and inadequate planning to secure the site. 
“Put simply, the evidence obtained by the Task Force to date shows the tragic and shocking events of July 13 were preventable and should not have happened,” the task force said. 
One of the key findings of the report concluded that the security perimeter set up by the Secret Service allowed people to get within around 150 yards of the stage where Trump was speaking without going through security screening. 
“The Task Force found that the [American Glass Research] parking lot was in fact closed to vehicle traffic, but a crowd gathered on the adjacent grassy area near the chain link fence that marked the outer perimeter established by the Secret Service,” the report said. “Onlookers in that area did not need to pass through the event’s magnetometers to see the rally stage — despite being approximately 150 yards from where the former President was speaking.”
Additionally, the task force noted that the Secret Service recognized that areas outside the security perimeter were risks but didn’t take the proper steps to secure them. 
“Despite its proximity to a main road, clear sight lines to the stage, and elevated position, the Secret Service placed the AGR complex outside the secure perimeter for the event, meaning that the crowd that gathered there was not screened by USSS or other law enforcement,” the report said. “The consequences of that decision were compounded by the fact that state and local law enforcement posted near the complex did not have complete visual coverage of the area.”
Crooks was able to access the roof of the AGR building using an air conditioning unit to hoist himself up. From there, he opened fire, injuring Trump and two rallygoers and killing 50-year-old Corey Comperatore. 
One local Butler police officer encountered Crooks before he opened fire as he attempted to climb up on the roof. 
“I see Crooks facing downrange towards the stage, but his eyes are back at me as I&#8217;m coming up,” the officer told the task force. “And I would say, like, his facial expressions was surprised. His eyes were very big, like, what are you doing up here?”
“And as I&#8217;m coming up and he&#8217;s got the gun pointed at me, I don&#8217;t know if I reach for my gun, if I slip, but all I know from that point is I&#8217;m looking at him, and all my weight is on my, like, arms, my hands, and I don&#8217;t have a grip,” the officer added, explaining why he was unable to confront Crooks. 
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amiracist.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1729077615157000&amp;usg=AOvVaw17Kprl74oE9DYOLREdiBPU">MATT WALSH’S ‘AM I RACIST?’ COMING TO DAILYWIRE+ OCT. 28</a>
The officer fell to the ground and radioed out that there was a man with a gun on the roof. The task force said it has no evidence that this warning reached Trump’s Secret Service detail before Crooks opened fire. 
While the FBI has said that a Secret Service sniper took out Crooks, one local police officer said he fired at Crooks and believed that he hit him. FBI investigator Kevin Rojek said that the agency had “no forensic evidence indicating that that round either struck our subject or the subject&#8217;s rifle.”
The release of the House report follows several other reports on the assassination attempt from the Senate and from an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/investigators-warn-another-butler-can-and-will-happen-without-secret-service-reform" target="_blank" rel="noopener">independent panel</a> created by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Each report has found the Secret Service liable for major planning failures and systematic communication breakdowns.

House Finds Secret Service Responsible For ‘Preventable’ Trump Assassination Attempt

An independent panel tasked with investigating the attempted assassination of former President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a> in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Thursday said a similar attempt &#8220;can and will happen again&#8221; without serious reform at the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/secret-service" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Secret Service</a>. 
In a new <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/2024-10/24_1017_opa-Independent-Review-Panel-Final-Report-and-Accompanying-Materials.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">35-page report</a>, the independent panel formed by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas detailed numerous mistakes made on the day of the attempted Trump assassination at a campaign rally in Butler on July 13. The panel called for new leadership at Secret Service, saying the agency was riddled with complacency and that current leadership lacked critical thinking.
“Thousands of men and women have dedicated their lives to the Secret Service, and we remain grateful to them for their bravery, selflessness, and willingness to serve in a vital role,” the panel said in a letter to Mayorkas attached to the report. “But the Secret Service as an agency requires fundamental reform to carry out its mission. Without that reform, the Independent Review Panel believes another Butler can and will happen again.”
During the July 13 attack, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks fired eight rounds at Trump, striking the former president in the ear, killing 50-year-old rallygoers Corey Comperatore and wounding attendees James Copenhaver and David Dutch. The panel, which included former Bush and Obama administration officials, dedicated its report to Comperatore, Copenhaver, and Dutch. 
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Key mistakes the panel noted from the day of the assassination attempt included the failure to secure the roof of the American Glass Research building from where Crooks fired at Trump, major communication failures, and numerous planning failures. 
Aside from the mistakes made the day of the attack, the panel said that the Secret Service “has become bureaucratic, complacent, and static even though risks have multiplied and technology has evolved.”
In the aftermath of the shooting, the panel said that many personnel involved in securing the rally had done little self-reflection about what mistakes were made or how to improve for the future. 
“Many personnel struggled to identify meaningful examples of either type of observation—what went wrong and what could be done better in the future to prevent a similar tragedy from reoccurring,” the report said. 
The panel found that those planning to secure the rally showed “a surprising lack of rigor in considering the specific risks posed to particular individual protectees.”
For example, one senior agent in charge of coordinating communications for the rally did not know the basic layout of the site, including where the AGR building was located, according to the report. 
The panel strongly recommended bringing new leadership from outside the agency to the Secret Service to address these issues.
Many of the failures identified by the panel <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/secret-service-was-told-of-credible-threat-to-trump-days-before-butler-rally" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mirrored</a> those found by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, which released a damning report last month on the Secret Service’s handling of the Butler rally. 
Trump returned to Butler earlier this month for a rally where he honored Comperatore and those injured during the attack.

Donald Trump Holds A Campaign Rally In Butler, Pennsylvania

Investigators Warn ‘Another Butler Can And Will Happen’ Without Secret Service Reform

Alejandro Mayorkas

General

Former President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a> said &#8220;unfinished business&#8221; drew him back to Butler, Pennsylvania, after he survived an assassination attempt there at a campaign rally in July.
During an interview on Fox News, &#8220;Sunday Morning Futures&#8221; host Maria Bartiromo asked Trump about his rally last weekend in the same place a bullet struck his ear nearly three months prior.
&#8220;Why did you have to go back to Butler?&#8221; Bartiromo queried.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
BARITOROMO: &quot;Why did you have to go back to Butler?&#8230; You started with &#39;as I was saying.&#39;&quot;
PRES. TRUMP: &quot;Unfinished business I think&#8230; It was a beautiful thing because the audience understood it immediately.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/beweZVF5ii">pic.twitter.com/beweZVF5ii</a>
&mdash; Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) <a href="https://twitter.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1845472013390938193?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 13, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Before Trump could answer, Bartiromo added, &#8220;I liked the way you started: &#8216;As I was saying.'&#8221;
She was referencing how Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/as-i-was-saying-trump-begins-butler-rally-with-chart-that-saved-his-life" target="_blank" rel="noopener">re-introduced</a> a chart on illegal immigration that he credits with saving his life because he turned his head to it just as the gunman opened fire.
&#8220;Yea, unfinished business, I think,&#8221; Trump told Bartiromo in response to her question.
In reference to the chart, Trump said, &#8220;I wasn&#8217;t sure if I should start it that way, but I guess it was a good thing.&#8221;
He added, &#8220;It was a beautiful, too, because the audience understood it immediately,&#8221; alluding to the cheers in the audience when he brought the chart back out.
Trump also talked about a <a href="https://x.com/ElizLanders/status/1842694161620664785" target="_blank" rel="noopener">moment of silence</a> last weekend at the same time of day the shooting took place at his rally on July 13.
It was a gesture that honored Corey Comperatore, a fireman who was killed in the shooting, which also injured Trump and other attendees. The gunman was killed by Secret Service counter-snipers.
&#8220;We had a moment of silence, and then we had the great bells of Notre Dame. We had a taping of the great bells of Notre Dame,&#8221; Trump told Bartiromo.
&#8220;You heard the bells going. And there are no bells like that in the village. So we had the great bells,&#8221; he added.
Trump went on to discuss a performance of &#8220;Ave Maria&#8221; by classical singer Christopher Macchio.
&#8220;And then we had a — Christopher, a great opera singer. And he sang &#8216;Ave Maria.&#8217; And it — and I was looking at this massive audience,&#8221; Trump said.
Trump continued, &#8220;Half of the people were crying. I mean, it was incredible. Everybody. I mean, the place was going wild.&#8221;

Trump Shares Why He Had To Go Back To Butler After Rally Shooting

2024 Election

Shooting

Former <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">President Donald Trump</a> got candid about his return to Butler, Pennsylvania, following the multiple assassination attempts against him, as well as who he thinks is behind them.
During comedian Andrew Schulz’s “Flagrant” podcast, the hosts asked Trump if he was “scared” to return to the scene of the shooting where one supporter was killed and two others severely injured.
“No, I’m not scared,” the president replied. “I sort of have an attitude, it is what it is. You do what you have to do. I felt it was important to go back.”
“A lot of people agreed with me,” he added, noting the huge turnout, before he cracked a joke about how a person doesn’t usually get that kind of turnout without some kind of musical skills.
“And I had no guitar. If you have a guitar, it’s easy,” Trump joked, adding how the crowd went “crazy” when he took the stage and quipped, “As I was saying.”
“So, we were at a very serious and somber [event], because we were celebrating a life that is no longer with us, and I wasn’t sure … I wanted to actually finish my speech,” Trump said. “When I got up [after being shot at], I said, ‘Let me finish my speech.’”
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“You know, when I went down it was sort of like, embarrassed, I said, ‘I went down in front of all these people, I don’t want to be embarrassed,'&#8221; he added, saying it wasn’t a situation he would describe as “surreal” because he was totally aware of everything that had just happened.
The former president was pressed multiple times about who he thought could be behind the assassination attempts, before he finally said that he hated answering the question because he doesn’t want to give “any false identities.”
“You would look at Iran. Iran has an open threat out for me,” Trump said. “And Biden, if he were a real president … should say, ‘Anybody shoots a former president … we will bomb that country into oblivion.'&#8221;
“And it would stop,” he added. “There have been people who have been threatened in another party, even … what you have to inform those people is, if they do it, [their] country will be blown to smithereens … and those threats go away.”
At one point, Trump also appeared to hit back at a recent <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/06/us/politics/trump-speeches-age-cognitive-decline.html">New York Times</a> headline that read, “Trump’s Speeches, Increasingly Angry and Rambling, Reignite the Question of Age.”
Trump said what he does is called “The Weave” and then described it, saying it actually takes a great deal of memory to do it.
“You know, I do a thing called the weave,” Trump said. “And there are those who say, ‘Oh this guy is so genius.’ Others who say, ‘Oh he rambles.’”
“I don’t ramble,” he added. “What you do, you weave things in. … You need to have an extraordinary memory because you have to come back where you started from. I can go so far here or there. And I can come back to exactly where I started.”
The entirety of Trump’s appearance on the podcast can be seen here:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Yerr we got Trump on the pod today to break down his stance on abortion, who he really thinks tried to take him out, and his FAVORITE African &#8211; American. INDULGE! <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a> <a href="https://t.co/pP7DzctXwt">pic.twitter.com/pP7DzctXwt</a>
— Andrew Schulz 👑HEZI (@andrewschulz) <a href="https://twitter.com/andrewschulz/status/1844010008734044357?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 9, 2024</a></blockquote>

Donald Trump assassination attempt

Trump Gets Candid About Return To Butler, Assassination Attempts, And More On ‘Flagrant’ Podcast

Trump Gets Candid About Return To Butler, Assassination Attempts And More On 'Flagrant' Podcast

Elections

Republican Congressman Dan Meuser was one of many Pennsylvanians who went to Butler, PA, on July 13, the day that an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/its-triumph-rally-goers-reflect-on-trumps-emotional-return-to-pa">assassin attempted to take the life</a> of former President Donald Trump.
Meuser and Dave McCormick, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, happened to be standing in the front row of the rally near a group of men who go by the name &#8220;The MAGA Boyz&#8221; when the shots rang out, around 6:11 p.m. Secret Service piled on top of Trump, who narrowly <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/112820414450748116">escaped the assassination attempt.</a>
In the frantic moments that followed the gunfire, the stunned crowd attempted to figure out where the shots were coming from and whether a shooter or shooters were actually among them. Rally-goer Devin Dashnaw said he turned to Meuser and urged the congressman to get behind him.
&#8220;These are the guys that are in D.C. fighting for us,&#8221; Dashnaw, who stands at a lofty six feet and eight inches and is a member of The MAGA Boyz, explained to The Daily Wire. &#8220;I told him to get behind me.&#8221;
&#8220;F*** that. Let&#8217;s fight,&#8221; the congressman told Dashnaw.
Dashnaw was impressed. Three months later, recalling the incident to The Daily Wire ahead of Trump&#8217;s October return to Butler, he said he would never forget the congressman&#8217;s words.
&#8220;I get goosebumps still to this day,&#8221; Dashnaw said.
In a Monday phone interview with The Daily Wire, Meuser explained that he thought they were still under fire when he spoke to Dashnaw.
&#8220;I thought there were shooters out there,&#8221; the congressman said. &#8220;We didn&#8217;t know that our secret service and our sniper killed the shooter until many minutes later. We had no idea. We thought we were hearing gunfire coming from the other side as well, and then we&#8217;re hearing &#8216;Medic! Medic!&#8217; coming from the other side. So we really thought there was a crossfire.&#8221;
&#8220;I just had a sense of anger,&#8221; Meuser continued. &#8220;Truly, I just was angry. I wasn&#8217;t thinking safety, I mean, we&#8217;re standing there in white shirts, red hats, we looked like a target. And as it turned out, the bullets were flying, the FBI told us afterwards, 18 inches over our heads.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_808979" style="width: 1316px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/10/Screenshot-2024-10-07-at-5.02.32%E2%80%AFPM.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-808979" class="wp-image-808979 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/10/Screenshot-2024-10-07-at-5.02.32%E2%80%AFPM.png" alt="Republican Pennsylvania Rep. Dan Meuser attends Saturday's rally in Butler, PA. " width="1306" height="1494" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/10/Screenshot-2024-10-07-at-5.02.32%E2%80%AFPM.png 1306w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/10/Screenshot-2024-10-07-at-5.02.32%E2%80%AFPM-262x300.png 262w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/10/Screenshot-2024-10-07-at-5.02.32%E2%80%AFPM-504x576.png 504w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/10/Screenshot-2024-10-07-at-5.02.32%E2%80%AFPM-768x879.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1306px) 100vw, 1306px" /></a>Republican Pennsylvania Congressmen Dan Meuser and Guy Reschenthaler attend Saturday&#8217;s rally in Butler, PA.</div>
<a href="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/10/IMG_9135.heic"><img decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-808939" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/10/IMG_9135.heic" alt="" /></a>
<div id="attachment_808981" style="width: 2046px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/10/Screenshot-2024-10-07-at-5.02.40%E2%80%AFPM.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-808981" class="wp-image-808981 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/10/Screenshot-2024-10-07-at-5.02.40%E2%80%AFPM.png" alt="Republican Pennsylvania Rep. Dan Meuser, Republican Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Kelly, and candidate Dave McCormick attend Saturday's rally in Butler. " width="2036" height="1434" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/10/Screenshot-2024-10-07-at-5.02.40%E2%80%AFPM.png 2036w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/10/Screenshot-2024-10-07-at-5.02.40%E2%80%AFPM-300x211.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/10/Screenshot-2024-10-07-at-5.02.40%E2%80%AFPM-818x576.png 818w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/10/Screenshot-2024-10-07-at-5.02.40%E2%80%AFPM-768x541.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/10/Screenshot-2024-10-07-at-5.02.40%E2%80%AFPM-1536x1082.png 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 2036px) 100vw, 2036px" /></a>Republican Pennsylvania Rep. Dan Meuser, Republican Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Kelly, and candidate Dave McCormick attend Saturday&#8217;s rally in Butler.</div>
Meuser is sure it was the third or fourth shot that hit Trump.
&#8220;I was able to spin and turn, and saw him grab his head and dive to the ground,&#8221; he explained. &#8220;After I saw him hit the deck, Dave and I both&#8230;we were about to leap over, the two of us. We looked at each other, we were heading over the rail to get to the president.&#8221;
Then they realized that the Secret Service was covering the president. At this point, Meuser said, it sounded like the gunfire had come from under the bleachers.
&#8220;I was peering underneath the bleachers and that&#8217;s when the guys, the MAGA Boyz, great guys, all Marines or former Marines and Army soldiers, they were like, &#8216;Get behind us.'&#8221;
Corey Comperatore, who was sitting a few rows above the congressmen, was tragically killed by the gunfire during this time. Meuser could hear someone calling for a medic for Comperatore.
&#8220;I made my way over to Corey, and the doctor was working on him&#8230;and this other guy was giving him mouth to mouth, so he had people around him,&#8221; the congressman shared.
&#8220;There was a lot of blood,&#8221; he stressed. &#8220;A lot of blood&#8230;&#8221;
Like many of the Trump supporters who attended the July rally, Meuser returned to Butler on Saturday for a massive rally in support of Trump and remembrance of Comperatore. When the clock struck 6:11 p.m., Trump called for a moment of silence as a bell tolled in Comperatore’s honor.
Trump then invited acclaimed tenor Christopher Macchio on stage for an emotional rendition of Schubert’s “Ave Maria,” during which time attendees could be seen wiping tears from their eyes.
And in a gesture of remembrance for the deceased father, the Trump campaign marked off the spot where he was shot, covering the chair with his firefighter uniform. Speakers repeatedly referenced Comperatore and his sacrifice throughout the rally, and the crowd prayed for him on a number of occasions.
&#8220;It was really quite an experience,&#8221; the congressman shared. &#8220;People were very happy, yet solemn, if you can be both at the same time. There wasn&#8217;t a lot of high-fiving and, you know, Trump rally-style stuff. Everybody was sort of orderly.&#8221;
Meuser himself had been worried about the thought of Trump returning to Butler.
&#8220;I didn&#8217;t think it was safe for him to go back to Butler, right before the election and everything,&#8221; he shared. &#8220;But he was determined to do it, and frankly, it turned out to be not just a good idea, but an unbelievably great idea.&#8221;
Dashnaw also returned to Butler on Saturday, where he and his fellow MAGA Boyz again sat behind Trump. In a phone interview ahead of the rally, he addressed whether he had any hesitations in returning to the scene of the shooting.
“That man stood there and took a bullet for us and stood up and told us to fight, and that’s exactly what I plan on doing,” Dashnaw <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-they-watched-trump-get-shot-in-butler-now-they-want-to-sit-as-close-to-him-as-possible">told The Daily Wire last week</a>. “If I could stand on stage right behind him, that’s where I would be.”

Donald Trump Speaks On The Economy

EXCLUSIVE: ‘F*** That, Let’s Fight’: Congressman Refused Protection During Trump Shooting

BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA — An estimated 100,000 people rallied for Donald Trump&#8217;s return to Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday, the former president&#8217;s campaign told The Daily Wire.
Trump stood in the exact spot where he was shot on July 13, the day that an attempted assassin tried to take his life, killing Corey Comperatore and injuring two others. Trump and others honored Comperatore, who died shielding his wife and daughter from bullets, at Saturday&#8217;s rally.
Attendees stood in line for hours in order to secure a spot as close as possible to the former president, who took the stage around 6 p.m., an hour after he was scheduled to appear. His late arrival was timed so that he would be on stage at 6:11 pm, Trump said, the moment when bullets began to fly.
When the clock struck 6:11 p.m., Trump called for a moment of silence as a bell tolled in Comperatore&#8217;s honor. Then Trump invited acclaimed tenor Christopher Macchio on stage for an emotional rendition of Schubert&#8217;s &#8220;Ave Maria,&#8221; during which time attendees could be seen wiping tears from their eyes.
In a gesture of remembrance to Comperatore, the Trump campaign marked off the spot where he was shot, covering the chair with his firefighter uniform. The neon stripes in the uniform jacket made it easy to see across the crowd, and the speakers repeatedly turned around to point to that seat and remind the audience of his sacrifice.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
COMING BACK OUT TO SING MOMENTARILY FOR <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a> , with patriot <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@elonmusk</a> on hand! <a href="https://t.co/BMB5FbyYBZ">pic.twitter.com/BMB5FbyYBZ</a>
— Christopher Macchio (@ChrisMacchio) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisMacchio/status/1842707846208573895?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 5, 2024</a></blockquote>
The Daily Wire spoke with many attendees on the ground in Butler about their support for Trump and their hopes for the 2024 election. A number of these individuals were present at the July 13 rally and returned Saturday to show their support for the president.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Trump voter addresses whether she was nervous to attend Saturday’s rally: “I don’t think we should let them scare us off!” <a href="https://t.co/lmW9kciI1R">pic.twitter.com/lmW9kciI1R</a>
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDailyWire/status/1842707070724014159?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 5, 2024</a></blockquote>
&#8220;I thought the rally was pretty amazing,&#8221; 25-year-old Paige Eritz told The Daily Wire after the event, describing herself as incredibly fortunate to return to Butler after she witnessed Trump survive the July 13 shooting.
She was seated behind Trump on Saturday, just as she was on July 13, &#8220;which was very special to me,&#8221; she said.
&#8220;I also noticed that the security was more in place this time around, when we were in line in the beginning, I felt like there was more structure, more security, more eyes on everyone, even though this crowd was larger than the one on July 13,&#8221; she shared. &#8220;I felt like they were very prepared for it, which was very comforting, to say the least.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_808391" style="width: 1142px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/10/Screenshot-2024-10-06-at-4.02.42%E2%80%AFPM.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-808391" class="wp-image-808391 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/10/Screenshot-2024-10-06-at-4.02.42%E2%80%AFPM.png" alt="" width="1132" height="1438" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/10/Screenshot-2024-10-06-at-4.02.42%E2%80%AFPM.png 1132w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/10/Screenshot-2024-10-06-at-4.02.42%E2%80%AFPM-236x300.png 236w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/10/Screenshot-2024-10-06-at-4.02.42%E2%80%AFPM-453x576.png 453w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/10/Screenshot-2024-10-06-at-4.02.42%E2%80%AFPM-768x976.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1132px) 100vw, 1132px" /></a>Paige Eritz smiles for a photo at the Butler rally on Saturday.</div>
One young man who spoke with The Daily Wire said he will be voting for the first time this year and plans to vote for Trump.
&#8220;I like how he is a business man. I like his policies for the country, especially the border. And I like his vice president,&#8221; he added. &#8220;I love him. I like how he came up from nothing&#8230;.he held himself up really well in the vice presidential debate,&#8221; the young man said about Sen. JD Vance (R-OH).
Vance met with reporters behind the main stage to take questions after the rally ended. Asked about Elon Musk&#8217;s suggestion that “this will be the last election” if Trump does not win, Vance said: &#8220;I certainly hope it&#8217;s not.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
JD Vance speaks to <a href="https://twitter.com/realDailyWire?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDailyWire</a> in Butler last night, addressing Elon Musk&#8217;s suggestion that “this will be the last election” if Kamala wins: <a href="https://t.co/EfpH5jbJHp">pic.twitter.com/EfpH5jbJHp</a>
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) <a href="https://twitter.com/MaryMargOlohan/status/1843037660623114476?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 6, 2024</a></blockquote>
&#8220;One of the things that you see is an astonishing willingness from Democratic leadership in this country, to talk about giving the right to vote to millions of upon millions of illegal aliens,&#8221; Vance told The Daily Wire. &#8220;If you take millions of people who shouldn&#8217;t be here and give them the right to vote, that fundamentally deprives American citizens of their constitutional right to vote.&#8221;
&#8220;And so I think what Elon is saying is if we don&#8217;t get this right, and get our border right, and stop giving away or at least offering to give away the right to vote to millions of people who don&#8217;t have the legal right to be here, then I do think it will permanently transform this country in a very negative way.&#8221;
Many of those on the ground emphasized to The Daily Wire that they felt enormous significance in Trump&#8217;s return to Butler.
&#8220;Courage, maybe, is not the right word,&#8221; one Trump supporter said. &#8220;It&#8217;s triumph.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
This Trump supporter shared that he was at the Butler rally on July 13 when Trump was shot. I asked him if Saturday’s rally held any special significance for him.
“Courage, maybe, is not the right word,” he said.
“It’s triumph.” <a href="https://t.co/OWm8WIJhb1">pic.twitter.com/OWm8WIJhb1</a>
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) <a href="https://twitter.com/MaryMargOlohan/status/1843075603400097912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 6, 2024</a></blockquote>

Republican Presidential Candidate Former President Trump Holds Rally In Butler, Pennsylvania

‘It’s Triumph’: Rally Goers Reflect On Trump’s Emotional Return To PA

JD Vance

On Saturday evening, former President Donald Trump will take the stage in Butler, Pennsylvania, the very spot where a gunman tried to end his life, killing a father and injuring two others. It is a bold, defiant gesture from a man who survived not one, but two recent assassination attempts — and it’s a gesture that his supporters intend to match.  
“That man stood there and took a bullet for us and stood up and told us to fight, and that’s exactly what I plan on doing,” Devin Dashnaw told The Daily Wire in a phone interview ahead of the rally. “If I could stand on stage right behind him, that’s where I would be.” 
The Daily Wire has learned that dozens of the rally goers who stood behind Trump as bullets flew are determined to once again flank the former president. Some of these supporters said they have been selected by the Trump campaign to sit behind the former president and to meet him after the rally. Some are excited, others are anxious, dwelling on the tragic death of Corey Comporatare on July 13, or scanning news reports about updated safety measures for Saturday.
All of them echo Dashnaw’s sentiment: they are going on Saturday, worried or not, to stand behind the man who stood up for them. 
<div id="attachment_807899" style="width: 887px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-807899" class="size-large wp-image-807899" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/10/GettyImages-2161343758-877x576.jpg" alt="" width="877" height="576" />(Photo by Trump Campaign Office / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)</div>
Images of that historic and tragic day show Trump speaking to the massive crowd surrounded by dozens of his supporters. Looking more closely, the “tight shot” of Trump in the moments before he got shot shows about 20 Trump supporters listening and clapping. 
Paige Eritz and her girlfriends were some of those standing right behind Trump: Eritz, tanned with long blonde hair, can be seen in photos wearing a camouflage “Make America Great Again” hat. She told The Daily Wire she and her friends, all in their mid-twenties, were delighted when they were offered the opportunity to sit behind Trump at the July rally after waiting in line for hours.
Minutes later, they were diving to the ground as the secret service piled upon Trump to protect him from the shooter. Eritz and her friends hid under the bleachers and lay there, hearts pounding, wondering what was going on and if they were about to be killed. 
“I just started thinking about everything, back home, my family, my friends, if we were to not make it out of that, because at that point I didn’t know if it was a mass shooting,” she explained. “I didn’t know that their target was just one person.” 
She’s going back on Saturday with her friends, and they’ve been given VIP tickets, she said. They’re hoping to sit in the exact same spot, right behind Trump. 
“I was talking to my neighbor who was also back there,” she shared. “It’s one of those things where I could not miss this rally, because I feel like after the [July] rally, the point of it was to make everyone scared. And more than anything I just wanna go, and sit in the same seat, and not be scared.” 
<div id="attachment_807903" style="width: 762px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-807903" class="wp-image-807903 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/10/GettyImages-2161369433-752x576.jpg" alt="" width="752" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/10/GettyImages-2161369433-752x576.jpg 752w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/10/GettyImages-2161369433-300x230.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/10/GettyImages-2161369433-768x588.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/10/GettyImages-2161369433-1536x1177.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/10/GettyImages-2161369433-2048x1569.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" />(Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)</div>
&nbsp;
Renee White is another July rally goer heading back to Butler. She spoke to The Daily Wire on her 14-hour drive to Pennsylvania from North Carolina, where her town has been underwater since Hurricane Helene made landfall late last month.
White is noticeable in the July 13 photos due to her blue shirt with the words “Mean Tweets 2024” — a shirt she picked up that morning from a vendor, she said. Butler was the 32nd Trump rally that White had attended, and when she was making arrangements to go, she had a gut feeling that she “needed to be there.” She says she slept at the event the night before to secure a good spot in line. A Secret Service member helped her get into Trump’s “tight shot,” she said, pretty much right behind Trump, and she was thrilled. 
“That’s where I like to be. I like him to know, I’ve got his back, he’s got mine,” she shared. 
Saturday will mark White’s 47th Trump rally. After witnessing Trump survive that assassination attempt, White has enthusiastically traveled to many more events to voice her support for the Republican  nominee. She said she even attended the Republican National Convention, where she sat a few rows back behind Trump and sobbed as he shared his perspective on the shooting for the first time since July 13. 
<div id="attachment_807905" style="width: 1031px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-807905" class="size-large wp-image-807905" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/10/GettyImages-2161333361-1021x576.jpg" alt="" width="1021" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/10/GettyImages-2161333361-1021x576.jpg 1021w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/10/GettyImages-2161333361-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/10/GettyImages-2161333361-768x433.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/10/GettyImages-2161333361-1536x866.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/10/GettyImages-2161333361-2048x1155.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1021px) 100vw, 1021px" />(Photo by Trump Campaign Office / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)</div>
She was emotional as she described why she is heading back to Butler. She not only wants to support Trump, but to also give a voice to the suffering people of North Carolina who have lost homes, friends, family, and livelihoods in the flooding. 
White and others stressed that going back to Butler is bittersweet. The rally-goers will commemorate Comperatore with members of his family invited by the Trump campaign. And a large group of those who were seated behind Trump on July 13 have been invited back by the campaign to sit behind him again, she said. 
“I am feeling like this is going to be a big reunion.” 
Jeremy Hooker is also heading back to Butler. He’s part of a group of men that goes by the name, “THEMAGABOYZ,” attending as many Trump rallies as they can to help register voters and bring more supporters to Trump. 
Members of his group captured viral video footage of the moments before Trump was shot, he said — the video shows the crowd momentarily going silent as they all duck for cover when shots ring out, rally goers telling one another to stay down, and the moment when Trump got to his feet and shook his fist at the crowd.
“USA, USA, USA,” the crowd chanted back at Trump, as he left the stage surrounded by secret service.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨New video sent to us from Saturday at the Trump rally
Credit: <a href="https://twitter.com/CryptoPatriot11?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@cryptopatriot11</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/magapaulie?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@magapaulie</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CryptoViking_19?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@cryptoviking_19</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CryptopherPratt?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@cryptopherpratt</a> <a href="https://t.co/PE4P6mYw5S">pic.twitter.com/PE4P6mYw5S</a>
— Hodgetwins (@hodgetwins) <a href="https://twitter.com/hodgetwins/status/1813696688495948164?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 17, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> 
Hooker reminisced about those moments, saying that everyone in the crowd was worried about helping one another and about making sure Trump was okay. 
“It was a true American moment,” he said quietly. “I consider myself honored to be there. I just can’t wait for Saturday.” 
“We’re going down to support Donald Trump,” chimed in his friend, Paul Passino, another member of THeMAGABOYZ. “We’re going to be there for Corey. We’re going to be there for everyone else. We’re going to help register some voters, flip [Pennsylvania] red, and help Donald Trump into the White House.” 
A lot of people might be afraid to go back to Butler after July 13, Hooker acknowledged. But the July 13 rally-goers are different. 
“These are American patriots we are talking about,” he said. “We’re not talking about normal people.”

BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA – July 13: Former president Donald Trump s

EXCLUSIVE: They Watched Trump Get Shot In Butler. Now They Want to Sit As Close To Him As Possible.

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