![]() | This article documents a
recent shooting. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be
unreliable. The
latest updates to this article
may not reflect the most current information. (July 2024) |
Attempted assassination of Donald Trump | |
---|---|
Part of political violence in the United States | |
| |
Location | Butler Farm Show Grounds near Butler, Pennsylvania |
Coordinates | 40°51′26″N 79°58′16″W / 40.8571223°N 79.9711779°W |
Date | July 13, 2024 6:11 p.m. (22 hours ago) [1] ( UTC−04:00) |
Target | Donald Trump [2] [3] [4] |
Attack type | Attempted assassination by gunshot |
Weapon | AR-15–style rifle |
Deaths | 2 (including the perpetrator) [5] |
Injured | 3 (including Trump) [6] |
Perpetrator | Thomas Matthew Crooks [7] |
Motive | Under investigation |
On July 13, 2024, Donald Trump, the former president of the United States and the Republican Party's presumptive nominee for the 2024 presidential election, was shot in the upper right ear at a campaign rally near Butler, Pennsylvania. [8] One member of the audience was killed, and two others were critically injured. [9] The shooting is being investigated as an attempted assassination. [10]
After being shot, Trump ducked to the ground and was surrounded by Secret Service personnel before being helped to his feet by Secret Service with blood visible on his right ear. Trump pumped his fist in the air and shouted "Fight, fight, fight!" [11] [12] before being hurried to a vehicle [13] [14] and taken to a hospital. He was released in stable condition. The shooter was identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. [13] [15] Crooks shot at Trump from the roof of a nearby building located outside the rally venue, and fired eight rounds from an AR-15–style rifle before being killed by a Secret Service Counter Assault Team sniper. [16] [17]
This was the first time a former or current United States president had been injured in an assassination attempt since Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981, and the first shooting of an active presidential candidate since the attempted assassination of George Wallace in 1972. [18] Experts considered the shooting as a sign of political polarization in the country, and political figures urged for a decrease in tensions. [19] The events evoked sympathy for Trump on social media. [20] [21] A number of public figures have called for an increase in security for the major candidates in the election. [22]
Donald Trump is the Republican Party's presumptive nominee for the 2024 presidential election. [23] The shooting occurred two days before the scheduled July 15 start of the 2024 Republican National Convention. [24] This was the second attempt at violence during one of his rallies: the first was in 2016, when a man attempted to disarm a security officer at a rally in Las Vegas. [25]
On July 5, 2024, it was announced that Trump would hold a rally on July 13 at the Butler Farm Show Grounds, located between Connoquenessing Township and Meridian, near Butler, Pennsylvania. [26] [27] [28] Setup, including installation of generators in a large open field, was begun by an advance team on July 10. [29] The rally was part of the Trump campaign's attempts to garner votes in Pennsylvania, which current polling indicates is a swing state; [30] the state has 19 votes in the Electoral College. [24] Butler County Republican Committee chairman James E. Hulings estimated that 50,000 people had been at the rally. [31] U.S. Representative Mike Kelly said that he had contacted the Trump campaign to recommend holding the rally in an area that could handle a larger crowd than the Butler Farm Show Grounds could, and that their response was, "We appreciate your input but we've already made up our minds". [24]
Attendees at Trump's rallies are screened for prohibited items, including weapons. [32] The Secret Service routinely screens and monitors nearby buildings and businesses, including structures outside security perimeters. [33] Four separate counter sniper teams were assigned to the event, two from the Secret Service and two from local law enforcement. [34]
Trump arrived on the stage at his campaign rally at about 6:03 p.m. EDT. [37] About ten minutes later, at approximately 6:12 p.m., Thomas Matthew Crooks fired eight shots into the rally venue from an AR-15–style rifle. [16] [37] Crooks had not undergone security screening, as he was outside the security perimeter of the rally; he had climbed onto the roof of a building around 400 feet (120 meters) north of Trump. [38] [39] [40] Reports indicated that a witness had observed a man carrying a rifle on the rooftop and alerted the police about the individual minutes before shots were fired at Trump. [41] A local police officer climbed up the roof and encountered Crooks, but retreated down the ladder, after Crooks pointed his rifle at him. Crooks quickly began firing right after the confrontation with the officer. [42]
Other local law enforcement officers identified Crooks and felt that he might have been acting suspiciously near the event's magnetometers; they alerted about their suspicions over the radio and together with the Secret Service kept an eye on Crooks. [34] As the shots were heard, the rally attendees yelled "Duck!" [43]
Trump was shot in the upper right ear. He put a hand to the ear and then dropped down on the podium and behind the lectern for cover. [44] [45] [46] [47] Secret Service agents lunged toward Trump and shielded him. After about 25 seconds, [48] agents helped Trump get up, by which time blood was visible on Trump's ear and face and he told Secret Service agents to "Let me get my shoes. Let me get my shoes." [48] Trump then raised his fist and pumped it at the crowd while mouthing the word "fight", with the crowd responding with cheers and chants of " U-S-A!" [48] He was then escorted to a vehicle and taken to a nearby hospital. [46] [48] [49]
Crooks shot Trump and three rally goers before being killed by a sniper from the United States Secret Service Counter Assault Team seconds later. One rally attendee was killed. [46] [50]
Apart from Trump, three adult male rally attendees were hit. [51] One of them, 50-year-old Corey Comperatore, was killed, and the other two critically injured. [52] Comperatore worked as a project and tooling engineer and was a volunteer firefighter. [53] [54] He was the former chief of the Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Company. [55] [56] According to his family and Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro, he died while shielding his daughters from gunfire. [55] [57]
One of the injured was sitting in the bleachers on the left-hand side of the venue. [35] U.S. Representative Ronny Jackson said a bullet had grazed his nephew's neck, drawing blood. [58]
On July 14, the Federal Bureau of Investigation identified the shooter as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, which is about an hour's drive from the rally venue where the shooting took place. [15] [59] [60] The rifle used by Crooks in the crime had been legally purchased by his father, according to law enforcement sources. [61] Crooks had attended Bethel Park High School and graduated in 2022. [62] [63] He had no known criminal record. [64] [60] The Pentagon found that he had no history of military service. [65] He worked in the kitchen of a nearby nursing home. [66] Some people who knew him characterized him as quiet, and a former classmate claimed he had often been bullied. [60]
Crooks was a registered Republican; [60] [67] [68] his voter registration had been active since September 2021, the month he turned 18. [69] [60] Federal campaign-finance records show that, earlier that year, on January 20, 2021, [70] [71] when he was 17, [72] he had donated $15 to the Progressive Turnout Project (a voter turnout group) through ActBlue (a donation platform for Democrats and progressive organizations). [73] [63] [74] Photos of Crooks's body showed him wearing a shirt that appeared to be merchandise from Demolition Ranch, a YouTube channel popularizing firearms. [75] [76]
Trump was transported to Butler Memorial Hospital for examination immediately following the shooting. [77] A spokesperson for the Secret Service affirmed that he was safe. [78] [79] [80]
Trump's motorcade left the hospital at around 9:30 pm EDT bound for Pittsburgh International Airport. [81] Trump landed in Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey early on July 14 and spent the night at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster. [82] Trump confirmed that he would be able to attend the Republican National Convention (RNC) on July 15. Security at Trump Tower and the RNC was strengthened following Trump's shooting. [83] [84]
The Trump Campaign organized a GoFundMe fundraising campaign for the rally goers who were wounded or killed, raising over $2 million by July 14. [85]
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The Federal Bureau of Investigation is leading an investigation with the United States Department of Justice National Security Division, the United States Secret Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. [86] [87] The incident is being investigated as an assassination attempt. [88] [10]
The body of Crooks was taken from the rooftop. [35] He was not carrying identification. [89] [90] The FBI confirmed the shooter's identity via fingerprint biometrics and DNA profiling. [91] Explosives were found in the car Crooks used to travel to the rally and at his home. [5] [92]
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Footage showing Trump reassuring the crowd that he was only lightly wounded mere moments after the assassination attempt was broadcast internationally. Photographer Evan Vucci of the Associated Press captured an image of a bloodied Trump pumping his fist in the air, surrounded by Secret Service members, and with an American flag in the background. [94] The photo, which quickly spread on social media, was then even more widely circulated by his most prominent allies, including the National Republican Senatorial Committee, his family members, and Republican members of Congress. [95]
Benjamin Wallace-Wells of The New Yorker wrote, "It is already the indelible image of our era of political crisis and conflict." He noted that "some of the elements in Vucci's image are familiar from the countless others of Trump," and concluded, "It is an image that captures him as he would like to be seen, so perfectly, in fact, that it may outlast all the rest." [93] Business Insider echoed those sentiments, writing that it had "become the most iconic image of his reelection among Republicans". [96] Shawn McCreesh of The New York Times wrote that "in the middle of the mayhem, Trump pumped his fist and revealed his instincts" for the careful management of his public image in "the modern media age". [97] Flavia Krause-Jackson of Bloomberg News wrote, "For his legions of MAGA devotees, [the assassination attempt] makes him even more of a martyr to the cause, Trump as the ultimate survivor." [98] Politico wrote that some had used the photo as "an opportunity to tout conspiracy theories and stoke political tensions". [99] [100]
Political scientists, [101] [102] historians, [103] [102] and many Democratic and Republican political figures [104] all pointed the events as a consequence of political polarization in the United States. [105] [106] The events led to widespread sympathy for Donald Trump on social media [107] and public figures across the political spectrum both domestically and internationally [108] urged for a decrease in tensions, condemning the assassination attempt. [102] [109] News agencies described Trump as being widely seen as a martyr after the event. [110] [111] [112]
Soon after being confirmed as safe, Trump released a statement on Truth Social recounting his experience, thanking law enforcement personnel and the Secret Service and offering condolences to the families of people killed and injured: [113] [114] [115]
I want to thank The United States Secret Service, and all of Law Enforcement, for their rapid response on the shooting that just took place in Butler, Pennsylvania. Most importantly, I want to extend my condolences to the family of the person at the Rally who was killed, and also to the family of another person that was badly injured. It is incredible that such an act can take place in our Country. Nothing is known at this time about the shooter, who is now dead. I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear. 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. GOD BLESS AMERICA!
— Donald Trump
After the shooting, United States president Joe Biden said: "Look, there's no place in America for this kind of violence. It's sick. It's sick. It's one of the reasons we have to unite this country... Everybody must condemn it." In a separate statement, he mentioned that he was grateful that Trump was safe. [116] [117] [118] Biden also publicly expressed his condolences for Comperatore, hailing his actions as a father. [119] Biden and Trump spoke on the evening of the incident. [120]
I have been briefed on the shooting at Donald Trump's rally in Pennsylvania.
I'm grateful to hear that he's safe and doing well. I'm praying for him and his family and for all those who were at the rally, as we await further information.
Jill and I are grateful to the Secret Service for getting him to safety. There's no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it.
Joe Biden, The White House, July 13, 2024
House Speaker Mike Johnson pledged to open an investigation into the shooting, seeking testimony from federal law enforcement and national security officials. Senate Republicans urged the Democratic-controlled senate to conduct hearings as well. [121] [122]
Republican U.S. representative Mike Collins of Georgia called for a Republican prosecutor to charge Biden for inciting an assassination. [123] Republican senator J. D. Vance of Ohio blamed the Biden presidential campaign's political rhetoric, while Republican senator Tim Scott of South Carolina blamed messaging by "the radical Left and corporate media". [124] Republican House majority leader Steve Scalise, who was seriously injured in the Congressional baseball shooting, stated that Democratic leaders had been fueling "ludicrous hysteria" about Trump and called for the "incendiary rhetoric" to stop. [125] Republican representative Marjorie Taylor Greene criticized Democratic representative Bennie Thompson for having introduced a bill that would strip Secret Service protection from convicted felons, which includes Trump. [125]
Steven Woodrow, a Democratic member of the Colorado House of Representatives, posted on X in response to the assassination attempt: "The last thing America needed was sympathy for the devil but here we are." [126] His post was widely criticized, including by the Colorado Democratic Party; [127] Woodrow deleted his account approximately three hours after his post. Afterwards, he told the Washington Examiner that he condemned the events that day "on the strongest terms" and that the comment "risks portraying Trump [as] a martyr, thus making him more likely to win in November". [126]
Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro denounced political violence and ordered flags to be lowered to half staff in honor of Comperatore, who was killed. [128] [129] Colorado governor Jared Polis called for President Biden to extend Secret Service protection to independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. [130]
Former president George W. Bush called the shooting "cowardly" and applauded the Secret Service for their response. [131] Former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, who was Trump's opponent in the 2016 election, also condemned the attack and wished Trump a swift recovery. [132] [133] The Carter Center, founded by former president Jimmy Carter, condemned the attack and called for Americans to "embrace civility". [134]
Many heads of state and of government condemned the shooting, including those of Albania, [135] Argentina, [136] Australia, [137] Azerbaijan, [138] Brazil, [139] Canada, [140] Chile, [141] China, [142] Cyprus, [143] Czechia, [144] Ecuador, [145] Egypt, [146] El Salvador, [147] Finland, France, [145] Germany, [148] Greece, [149] Hungary, [150] India, [150] Indonesia, [151] Ireland, [152] Israel, [153] Italy, [150] [141] Japan, [154] Kazakhstan, [155] Kosovo, [156] the Maldives, [157] Mexico, [158] Morocco, [159] North Macedonia, [160] Pakistan, [161] Palestine, [162] the Philippines, [163] Poland, [164] South Africa, [165] South Korea, [166] Spain, [167] Sweden, [168] Taiwan, [161] Turkey, [169] Ukraine, [150] the United Kingdom, [170] Uzbekistan, [171] Venezuela, [172] and Zambia. [173]
Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, issued a statement condemning the shooting as political violence, emphasizing that it is never a solution to political disagreements. [174] [175]
Businessmen Elon Musk and Bill Ackman endorsed Trump for the presidency following the incident. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos wrote that Trump had "showed tremendous grace and courage under literal fire". [176] [177] [178]
Misinformation and conspiracy theories about the events have spread widely. [179] BBC News noted the current normalization of both across the political spectrum, noting that "the real change... is how this kind of lingo is being widely used by the average social media users" rather than being on the fringe. [179] According to The Washington Post: "As more Americans lose trust in mainstream institutions and turn to partisan commentators and influencers for information, experts say they are seeing a big uptick in the manufacture and spread of [left-wing] conspiracy theories, a sign that the communal warping of reality is no longer occurring primarily on the right." [180] According to BBC News, "lots of the most viral [misinformation and conspiracy theories], came from left-leaning users who regularly share their anti-Trump views." [179] Many left-wing accounts stated that the event was a false flag, alleged that Trump was not shot, that the blood on former president Donald Trump’s ear was from a theatrical gel pack, claimed the shooting was a “ false flag" coordinated by the Secret Service in collaboration with the Trump campaign, and that crisis actors were deployed by a right-wing " deep state" to reelect Trump. [179] LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman suggested that the attack on Trump could have been staged. [181]
On X, conspiracy theories "gained traction just minutes after the incident occurred", the word "staged" becoming the second-highest trending topic immediately after "Trump". [182] Right-wing conspiracy theories also spread. " Antifa" also became a top trending topic after posts on X blamed the shooting on a "prominent Antifa activist", falsely identifying him as "Mark Violets" using a photograph of Marco Violi, an Italian soccer vlogger. Alex Jones livestreamed and made posts blaming "the deep state", and highly followed QAnon-related accounts shared names of high-profile Democrats and Republicans, accusing them of colluding with the CIA. These posts have accumulated millions of views. [182] Georgian prime minister Irakli Kobakhidze blamed the " global war party", a mysterious international organization that allegedly exert a key influence on the European Union and the United States, for the attack. [183] The global war party is a recurring element of a conspiracy theory created and advanced by Kobakhidze's political party Georgian Dream.
The attempted assassination was so shocking that it immediately cut through a wide range of cultural and digital bubbles, drawing mostly sympathetic reactions from influencers, athletes and CEOs.
The rally is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. at the Butler Farm Show grounds, 625 Evans City Road in Connoquenessing Township.
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As more Americans lose trust in mainstream institutions and turn to partisan commentators and influencers for information, experts say they are seeing a big uptick in the manufacture and spread of [left-wing] conspiracy theories, a sign that the communal warping of reality is no longer occurring primarily on the right.
![]() | This article documents a
recent shooting. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be
unreliable. The
latest updates to this article
may not reflect the most current information. (July 2024) |
Attempted assassination of Donald Trump | |
---|---|
Part of political violence in the United States | |
| |
Location | Butler Farm Show Grounds near Butler, Pennsylvania |
Coordinates | 40°51′26″N 79°58′16″W / 40.8571223°N 79.9711779°W |
Date | July 13, 2024 6:11 p.m. (22 hours ago) [1] ( UTC−04:00) |
Target | Donald Trump [2] [3] [4] |
Attack type | Attempted assassination by gunshot |
Weapon | AR-15–style rifle |
Deaths | 2 (including the perpetrator) [5] |
Injured | 3 (including Trump) [6] |
Perpetrator | Thomas Matthew Crooks [7] |
Motive | Under investigation |
On July 13, 2024, Donald Trump, the former president of the United States and the Republican Party's presumptive nominee for the 2024 presidential election, was shot in the upper right ear at a campaign rally near Butler, Pennsylvania. [8] One member of the audience was killed, and two others were critically injured. [9] The shooting is being investigated as an attempted assassination. [10]
After being shot, Trump ducked to the ground and was surrounded by Secret Service personnel before being helped to his feet by Secret Service with blood visible on his right ear. Trump pumped his fist in the air and shouted "Fight, fight, fight!" [11] [12] before being hurried to a vehicle [13] [14] and taken to a hospital. He was released in stable condition. The shooter was identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. [13] [15] Crooks shot at Trump from the roof of a nearby building located outside the rally venue, and fired eight rounds from an AR-15–style rifle before being killed by a Secret Service Counter Assault Team sniper. [16] [17]
This was the first time a former or current United States president had been injured in an assassination attempt since Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981, and the first shooting of an active presidential candidate since the attempted assassination of George Wallace in 1972. [18] Experts considered the shooting as a sign of political polarization in the country, and political figures urged for a decrease in tensions. [19] The events evoked sympathy for Trump on social media. [20] [21] A number of public figures have called for an increase in security for the major candidates in the election. [22]
Donald Trump is the Republican Party's presumptive nominee for the 2024 presidential election. [23] The shooting occurred two days before the scheduled July 15 start of the 2024 Republican National Convention. [24] This was the second attempt at violence during one of his rallies: the first was in 2016, when a man attempted to disarm a security officer at a rally in Las Vegas. [25]
On July 5, 2024, it was announced that Trump would hold a rally on July 13 at the Butler Farm Show Grounds, located between Connoquenessing Township and Meridian, near Butler, Pennsylvania. [26] [27] [28] Setup, including installation of generators in a large open field, was begun by an advance team on July 10. [29] The rally was part of the Trump campaign's attempts to garner votes in Pennsylvania, which current polling indicates is a swing state; [30] the state has 19 votes in the Electoral College. [24] Butler County Republican Committee chairman James E. Hulings estimated that 50,000 people had been at the rally. [31] U.S. Representative Mike Kelly said that he had contacted the Trump campaign to recommend holding the rally in an area that could handle a larger crowd than the Butler Farm Show Grounds could, and that their response was, "We appreciate your input but we've already made up our minds". [24]
Attendees at Trump's rallies are screened for prohibited items, including weapons. [32] The Secret Service routinely screens and monitors nearby buildings and businesses, including structures outside security perimeters. [33] Four separate counter sniper teams were assigned to the event, two from the Secret Service and two from local law enforcement. [34]
Trump arrived on the stage at his campaign rally at about 6:03 p.m. EDT. [37] About ten minutes later, at approximately 6:12 p.m., Thomas Matthew Crooks fired eight shots into the rally venue from an AR-15–style rifle. [16] [37] Crooks had not undergone security screening, as he was outside the security perimeter of the rally; he had climbed onto the roof of a building around 400 feet (120 meters) north of Trump. [38] [39] [40] Reports indicated that a witness had observed a man carrying a rifle on the rooftop and alerted the police about the individual minutes before shots were fired at Trump. [41] A local police officer climbed up the roof and encountered Crooks, but retreated down the ladder, after Crooks pointed his rifle at him. Crooks quickly began firing right after the confrontation with the officer. [42]
Other local law enforcement officers identified Crooks and felt that he might have been acting suspiciously near the event's magnetometers; they alerted about their suspicions over the radio and together with the Secret Service kept an eye on Crooks. [34] As the shots were heard, the rally attendees yelled "Duck!" [43]
Trump was shot in the upper right ear. He put a hand to the ear and then dropped down on the podium and behind the lectern for cover. [44] [45] [46] [47] Secret Service agents lunged toward Trump and shielded him. After about 25 seconds, [48] agents helped Trump get up, by which time blood was visible on Trump's ear and face and he told Secret Service agents to "Let me get my shoes. Let me get my shoes." [48] Trump then raised his fist and pumped it at the crowd while mouthing the word "fight", with the crowd responding with cheers and chants of " U-S-A!" [48] He was then escorted to a vehicle and taken to a nearby hospital. [46] [48] [49]
Crooks shot Trump and three rally goers before being killed by a sniper from the United States Secret Service Counter Assault Team seconds later. One rally attendee was killed. [46] [50]
Apart from Trump, three adult male rally attendees were hit. [51] One of them, 50-year-old Corey Comperatore, was killed, and the other two critically injured. [52] Comperatore worked as a project and tooling engineer and was a volunteer firefighter. [53] [54] He was the former chief of the Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Company. [55] [56] According to his family and Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro, he died while shielding his daughters from gunfire. [55] [57]
One of the injured was sitting in the bleachers on the left-hand side of the venue. [35] U.S. Representative Ronny Jackson said a bullet had grazed his nephew's neck, drawing blood. [58]
On July 14, the Federal Bureau of Investigation identified the shooter as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, which is about an hour's drive from the rally venue where the shooting took place. [15] [59] [60] The rifle used by Crooks in the crime had been legally purchased by his father, according to law enforcement sources. [61] Crooks had attended Bethel Park High School and graduated in 2022. [62] [63] He had no known criminal record. [64] [60] The Pentagon found that he had no history of military service. [65] He worked in the kitchen of a nearby nursing home. [66] Some people who knew him characterized him as quiet, and a former classmate claimed he had often been bullied. [60]
Crooks was a registered Republican; [60] [67] [68] his voter registration had been active since September 2021, the month he turned 18. [69] [60] Federal campaign-finance records show that, earlier that year, on January 20, 2021, [70] [71] when he was 17, [72] he had donated $15 to the Progressive Turnout Project (a voter turnout group) through ActBlue (a donation platform for Democrats and progressive organizations). [73] [63] [74] Photos of Crooks's body showed him wearing a shirt that appeared to be merchandise from Demolition Ranch, a YouTube channel popularizing firearms. [75] [76]
Trump was transported to Butler Memorial Hospital for examination immediately following the shooting. [77] A spokesperson for the Secret Service affirmed that he was safe. [78] [79] [80]
Trump's motorcade left the hospital at around 9:30 pm EDT bound for Pittsburgh International Airport. [81] Trump landed in Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey early on July 14 and spent the night at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster. [82] Trump confirmed that he would be able to attend the Republican National Convention (RNC) on July 15. Security at Trump Tower and the RNC was strengthened following Trump's shooting. [83] [84]
The Trump Campaign organized a GoFundMe fundraising campaign for the rally goers who were wounded or killed, raising over $2 million by July 14. [85]
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The Federal Bureau of Investigation is leading an investigation with the United States Department of Justice National Security Division, the United States Secret Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. [86] [87] The incident is being investigated as an assassination attempt. [88] [10]
The body of Crooks was taken from the rooftop. [35] He was not carrying identification. [89] [90] The FBI confirmed the shooter's identity via fingerprint biometrics and DNA profiling. [91] Explosives were found in the car Crooks used to travel to the rally and at his home. [5] [92]
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Footage showing Trump reassuring the crowd that he was only lightly wounded mere moments after the assassination attempt was broadcast internationally. Photographer Evan Vucci of the Associated Press captured an image of a bloodied Trump pumping his fist in the air, surrounded by Secret Service members, and with an American flag in the background. [94] The photo, which quickly spread on social media, was then even more widely circulated by his most prominent allies, including the National Republican Senatorial Committee, his family members, and Republican members of Congress. [95]
Benjamin Wallace-Wells of The New Yorker wrote, "It is already the indelible image of our era of political crisis and conflict." He noted that "some of the elements in Vucci's image are familiar from the countless others of Trump," and concluded, "It is an image that captures him as he would like to be seen, so perfectly, in fact, that it may outlast all the rest." [93] Business Insider echoed those sentiments, writing that it had "become the most iconic image of his reelection among Republicans". [96] Shawn McCreesh of The New York Times wrote that "in the middle of the mayhem, Trump pumped his fist and revealed his instincts" for the careful management of his public image in "the modern media age". [97] Flavia Krause-Jackson of Bloomberg News wrote, "For his legions of MAGA devotees, [the assassination attempt] makes him even more of a martyr to the cause, Trump as the ultimate survivor." [98] Politico wrote that some had used the photo as "an opportunity to tout conspiracy theories and stoke political tensions". [99] [100]
Political scientists, [101] [102] historians, [103] [102] and many Democratic and Republican political figures [104] all pointed the events as a consequence of political polarization in the United States. [105] [106] The events led to widespread sympathy for Donald Trump on social media [107] and public figures across the political spectrum both domestically and internationally [108] urged for a decrease in tensions, condemning the assassination attempt. [102] [109] News agencies described Trump as being widely seen as a martyr after the event. [110] [111] [112]
Soon after being confirmed as safe, Trump released a statement on Truth Social recounting his experience, thanking law enforcement personnel and the Secret Service and offering condolences to the families of people killed and injured: [113] [114] [115]
I want to thank The United States Secret Service, and all of Law Enforcement, for their rapid response on the shooting that just took place in Butler, Pennsylvania. Most importantly, I want to extend my condolences to the family of the person at the Rally who was killed, and also to the family of another person that was badly injured. It is incredible that such an act can take place in our Country. Nothing is known at this time about the shooter, who is now dead. I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear. 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. GOD BLESS AMERICA!
— Donald Trump
After the shooting, United States president Joe Biden said: "Look, there's no place in America for this kind of violence. It's sick. It's sick. It's one of the reasons we have to unite this country... Everybody must condemn it." In a separate statement, he mentioned that he was grateful that Trump was safe. [116] [117] [118] Biden also publicly expressed his condolences for Comperatore, hailing his actions as a father. [119] Biden and Trump spoke on the evening of the incident. [120]
I have been briefed on the shooting at Donald Trump's rally in Pennsylvania.
I'm grateful to hear that he's safe and doing well. I'm praying for him and his family and for all those who were at the rally, as we await further information.
Jill and I are grateful to the Secret Service for getting him to safety. There's no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it.
Joe Biden, The White House, July 13, 2024
House Speaker Mike Johnson pledged to open an investigation into the shooting, seeking testimony from federal law enforcement and national security officials. Senate Republicans urged the Democratic-controlled senate to conduct hearings as well. [121] [122]
Republican U.S. representative Mike Collins of Georgia called for a Republican prosecutor to charge Biden for inciting an assassination. [123] Republican senator J. D. Vance of Ohio blamed the Biden presidential campaign's political rhetoric, while Republican senator Tim Scott of South Carolina blamed messaging by "the radical Left and corporate media". [124] Republican House majority leader Steve Scalise, who was seriously injured in the Congressional baseball shooting, stated that Democratic leaders had been fueling "ludicrous hysteria" about Trump and called for the "incendiary rhetoric" to stop. [125] Republican representative Marjorie Taylor Greene criticized Democratic representative Bennie Thompson for having introduced a bill that would strip Secret Service protection from convicted felons, which includes Trump. [125]
Steven Woodrow, a Democratic member of the Colorado House of Representatives, posted on X in response to the assassination attempt: "The last thing America needed was sympathy for the devil but here we are." [126] His post was widely criticized, including by the Colorado Democratic Party; [127] Woodrow deleted his account approximately three hours after his post. Afterwards, he told the Washington Examiner that he condemned the events that day "on the strongest terms" and that the comment "risks portraying Trump [as] a martyr, thus making him more likely to win in November". [126]
Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro denounced political violence and ordered flags to be lowered to half staff in honor of Comperatore, who was killed. [128] [129] Colorado governor Jared Polis called for President Biden to extend Secret Service protection to independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. [130]
Former president George W. Bush called the shooting "cowardly" and applauded the Secret Service for their response. [131] Former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, who was Trump's opponent in the 2016 election, also condemned the attack and wished Trump a swift recovery. [132] [133] The Carter Center, founded by former president Jimmy Carter, condemned the attack and called for Americans to "embrace civility". [134]
Many heads of state and of government condemned the shooting, including those of Albania, [135] Argentina, [136] Australia, [137] Azerbaijan, [138] Brazil, [139] Canada, [140] Chile, [141] China, [142] Cyprus, [143] Czechia, [144] Ecuador, [145] Egypt, [146] El Salvador, [147] Finland, France, [145] Germany, [148] Greece, [149] Hungary, [150] India, [150] Indonesia, [151] Ireland, [152] Israel, [153] Italy, [150] [141] Japan, [154] Kazakhstan, [155] Kosovo, [156] the Maldives, [157] Mexico, [158] Morocco, [159] North Macedonia, [160] Pakistan, [161] Palestine, [162] the Philippines, [163] Poland, [164] South Africa, [165] South Korea, [166] Spain, [167] Sweden, [168] Taiwan, [161] Turkey, [169] Ukraine, [150] the United Kingdom, [170] Uzbekistan, [171] Venezuela, [172] and Zambia. [173]
Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, issued a statement condemning the shooting as political violence, emphasizing that it is never a solution to political disagreements. [174] [175]
Businessmen Elon Musk and Bill Ackman endorsed Trump for the presidency following the incident. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos wrote that Trump had "showed tremendous grace and courage under literal fire". [176] [177] [178]
Misinformation and conspiracy theories about the events have spread widely. [179] BBC News noted the current normalization of both across the political spectrum, noting that "the real change... is how this kind of lingo is being widely used by the average social media users" rather than being on the fringe. [179] According to The Washington Post: "As more Americans lose trust in mainstream institutions and turn to partisan commentators and influencers for information, experts say they are seeing a big uptick in the manufacture and spread of [left-wing] conspiracy theories, a sign that the communal warping of reality is no longer occurring primarily on the right." [180] According to BBC News, "lots of the most viral [misinformation and conspiracy theories], came from left-leaning users who regularly share their anti-Trump views." [179] Many left-wing accounts stated that the event was a false flag, alleged that Trump was not shot, that the blood on former president Donald Trump’s ear was from a theatrical gel pack, claimed the shooting was a “ false flag" coordinated by the Secret Service in collaboration with the Trump campaign, and that crisis actors were deployed by a right-wing " deep state" to reelect Trump. [179] LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman suggested that the attack on Trump could have been staged. [181]
On X, conspiracy theories "gained traction just minutes after the incident occurred", the word "staged" becoming the second-highest trending topic immediately after "Trump". [182] Right-wing conspiracy theories also spread. " Antifa" also became a top trending topic after posts on X blamed the shooting on a "prominent Antifa activist", falsely identifying him as "Mark Violets" using a photograph of Marco Violi, an Italian soccer vlogger. Alex Jones livestreamed and made posts blaming "the deep state", and highly followed QAnon-related accounts shared names of high-profile Democrats and Republicans, accusing them of colluding with the CIA. These posts have accumulated millions of views. [182] Georgian prime minister Irakli Kobakhidze blamed the " global war party", a mysterious international organization that allegedly exert a key influence on the European Union and the United States, for the attack. [183] The global war party is a recurring element of a conspiracy theory created and advanced by Kobakhidze's political party Georgian Dream.
The attempted assassination was so shocking that it immediately cut through a wide range of cultural and digital bubbles, drawing mostly sympathetic reactions from influencers, athletes and CEOs.
The rally is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. at the Butler Farm Show grounds, 625 Evans City Road in Connoquenessing Township.
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As more Americans lose trust in mainstream institutions and turn to partisan commentators and influencers for information, experts say they are seeing a big uptick in the manufacture and spread of [left-wing] conspiracy theories, a sign that the communal warping of reality is no longer occurring primarily on the right.