Attempted assassination of Donald Trump: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 17:38, 14 July 2024

Attempted assassination of Donald Trump
Part of political violence in the United States

Location	Butler Farm Show Grounds near Butler, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Coordinates	40°51′26″N 79°58′16″W / 40.8571223°N 79.9711779°W / 40.8571223; -79.9711779
Date	July 13, 2024 (2024-07-13) 6:11 p.m. (22 hours ago)^[1] (UTC−04:00)
Target	Donald Trump^[2]^[3]^[4]
Attack type	Attempted assassinationbygunshot
Weapon	AR-15–style rifle
Deaths	2 (including the perpetrator)^[5]
Injured	3 (including Trump)^[6]
Perpetrator	Thomas Matthew Crooks^[7]

The shooter was identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew CrooksofBethel Park, Pennsylvania.^[5]^[10]^[13]^[14] Law enforcement personnel and witnesses said Crooks crawled onto a roof of a building that was owned by AGR International^[15] 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] One member of the audience was killed, and two others were critically injured.^[18] After being shot, Trump ducked to the ground and was quickly surrounded by Secret Service personnel. He soon rose to his feet, and was bleeding from his right ear. He said "wait, wait, wait" to the agents before pumping his fist in the air and shouting "fight, fight, fight!";^[19] he was then hurried to a vehicle.^[10]^[20] Trump was taken to a hospital, released in stable condition, and departed for New Jersey by plane.

Political scientists,^[21]^[22] historians,^[23]^[22] and political figures within the Republican Party and the Democratic Party^[24] regarded the shooting as a sign of profound political polarization in the country, and there was widespread criticism made of claims that Trump wishes to be a dictator.^[21]^[25]^[26]^{[failed verification]} The events led to widespread sympathy for Trump on social media^[27] and political figures across the political spectrum both domestically and internationally^[28] urged for a decrease in tensions, condemning the assassination attempt on his life.^[22]^[29] News agencies described Trump as being widely seen as a "martyr" after the event.^[30]^[31] It was the first time a former or current U.S. president had been injured in an assassination attempt since Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981, and the first time a presidential candidate had been injured in such an incident since the attempted assassination of George Wallace in 1972.^[32] A number of public figures have advocated for an increase in security for the three major candidates in the election: Trump, Joe Biden, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.^[33]

Background

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.^[37]^[38]^[39] Setup, including installation of generators in a large open field, was begun by an advance team on July 10.^[40] The rally was part of the Trump campaign's attempts to garner votes in Pennsylvania, which current polling indicates is a swing state;^[41] the state has 19 votes in the Electoral College.^[35] Butler County Republican Committee chairman James E. Hulings estimated that 50,000 people had been at the rally.^[42] 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".^[43]

Attendees at Trump's rallies are screened for prohibited items, including weapons.^[44]

Shooting

Trump arrived on the stage at his campaign rally at about 6:03 p.m. EDT.^[47] 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]^[47] Crooks had not undergone security screening, as he was outside the security perimeter of the rally; he had climbed onto the roof of a shed, 200 to 400 feet (61 to 122 metres) north of Trump.^[48]^[49]^[50]^[51] Reports indicated that a witness had observed a man carrying a rifle on the rooftop and had attempted to alert the police about the individual minutes before shots were fired at Trump.^[52] Crooks was killed by a sniper from the United States Secret Service Counter Assault Team immediately after the shooting.^[53] As the shots were heard, the rally attendees yelled "duck!" ^[54]

A bullet struck Trump's upper right ear. He briefly put his right hand to the ear and then dropped to the ground.^[53]^[55] Secret Service agents lunged toward Trump and shielded him. After about 25 seconds,^[56] he rose with blood on his ear and face and told Secret Service agents that he needed his shoes. Trump then raised his fist and pumped it at the crowd, with cheers and chants of "U-S-A!" in response. He was then escorted to a vehicle and taken to a nearby hospital.^[53]^[56]^[57]

Victims

Apart from Trump, three adult male^[58] rally attendees were hit, leaving one of them, 50-year-old Corey Comperatore, dead, and the other two critically injured.^[59] Comperatore worked as a project and tooling engineer and was a volunteer firefighter.^[60]^[61] He was the former chief of the Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Company.^[62]^[63] According to his family and Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro, he died while shielding his daughters from gunfire.^[62]^[64]

One of the injured was sitting in the bleachers on the left-hand side of the venue.^[45] U.S. Representative Ronny Jackson said a bullet had grazed his nephew's neck, drawing blood.^[65]

Perpetrator

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.^[13]^[14]^[66] The rifle used by Crooks in the crime had been legally purchased by his father, according to law enforcement sources.^[67] Crooks had attended Bethel Park High School and graduated in 2022.^[68]^[69] He had no known criminal record.^[70]^[66] The Pentagon found that he had no history of military service.^[71] He worked in the kitchen of a nearby nursing home.^[72] Some people who knew him characterized him as quiet, and a former classmate claimed he had often been bullied.^[66]

Crooks was a registered Republican;^[66]^[73]^[74] his voter registration had been active since September 2021, the month he turned 18.^[75]^[66] Federal campaign-finance records show that, earlier that year, on January 20, 2021,^[76]^[77] when he was 17,^[78] he had donated $15 to the Progressive Turnout Project (avoter turnout group) through ActBlue (the Democratic Party donation platform).^[79]^[69]^[80] Photos of Crooks's body showed him wearing a shirt that appeared to be merchandise from Demolition Ranch, a YouTube channel popularizing firearms.^[81]^[82]

Aftermath

Trump was transported to Butler Memorial Hospital for examination immediately following the shooting.^[83] A spokesperson for the Secret Service affirmed that he was safe.^[84]^[85]^[86]

Investigation

External videos
FBI Briefing on Trump Rally Shooting, July 13, 2024, C-SPAN

The body of Crooks was taken from the rooftop.^[45] He was not carrying identification.^[92]^[93] The FBI confirmed the shooter's identity via fingerprint biometrics and DNA profiling.^[94] Explosives were found in the car Crooks used to travel to the rally and at his home.^[5]^[95]

Effects on Trump's public image

The footage of Trump's reassurance that he was only lightly wounded to spectators and media alike moments after the assassination attempt was broadcast internationally. An image of a bloodied Trump pumping his fist in the air, surrounded by the Secret Service, and with an American flag in the backdrop, was taken by Evan Vucci^[97] of the Associated Press and spread on social media shortly afterwards. The photo saw subsequent widespread usage in posts by his most prominent allies, including the National Republican Senatorial Committee, his family members, and members of Congress.^[98]

Benjamin Wallace-Wells of The New Yorker wrote that "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 that "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."^[96] Business Insider echoed those sentiments, assessing that it had "become the most iconic image of his reelection among Republicans".^[99] 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".^[100] According to Flavia Krause-Jackson of Bloomberg News: "For his legions of MAGA devotees, [the assassination attempt] makes him even more of a martyr to the cause, Trump as the ultimate survivor."^[101] Politico stated that some used the photo as "an opportunity to tout conspiracy theories and stoke political tensions".^[102]^[103]

Reactions

Political scientists,^[21]^[22] historians,^[23]^[22] and many Democratic and Republican political figures^[24] all pointed the events as a sign of profound political polarization in the United States, and there was widespread criticism made against heated rhetoric that Trump was a potential dictator.^[25]^[26] The events led to widespread sympathy for Donald Trump on social media^[27] and political figures across the political spectrum both domestically and internationally^[28] urged for a decrease in tensions, condemning the assassination attempt on his life.^[22]^[29] News agencies described Trump as being widely seen as a "martyr" after the event.^[30]^[31]

Trump

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:^[104]^[105]^[106]

U.S. officials

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." Separately, he stated he was "grateful to hear" that Trump was safe.^[107]^[108]^[109] Biden and Trump spoke on the evening of the incident.^[110]

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.^[111]^[112]

Republican U.S. representative Mike Collins of Georgia called for a Republican prosecutor to charge Biden for inciting an assassination.^[113] 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".^[114] 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.^[115] 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 Trump is.^[115]

International leaders

Others

Former president George W. Bush called the shooting "cowardly" and applauded the Secret Service for their response.^[156] Former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton and former secretary of state and Trump's opponent in the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton, also condemned the attack and wished Trump a swift recovery.^[157]^[158] The Carter Center condemned the attack and called for Americans to "embrace civility".^[159]

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".^[160]^[161]^[162]

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