Butler still grapples with aftermath of assassination attempt before Trump returns

BUTLER, Pa. (AP) Donald Trump returns to Butler, where the world last saw him pump his fist and implore his supporters to fight, even as blood streamed down his face from a bullet potential assassin.

In announcing his return, the former president and current Republican nominee said he plans to celebrate a unifying vision for the future of the Americas in an event like the world has never seen before.

The question is: Is Butler ready?

While many expect a large crowd to hear Trump respond on the very Farm Show property where a bullet grazed his right ear on July 13, there is also apprehension in town, as well as the feeling that Butler is still healing.

READ MORE: Gunman Who Tried To Assassinate Trump Saw Butler Gathering As A Target Of Opportunity, FBI Says

I've consulted with at least 500 people since this happened, said registered nurse Shanea Clancy, who runs a mental health counseling service in Butler County and has seen people more anxious since the shooting. Some show signs of post-traumatic stress.

The big theme, if you will, is simply: How did something like this happen in our garden? Clancy said. People don't expect trauma to show up on their doorstep on any given day.

The assassination attempt resonated deeply in the mountain community north of Pittsburgh. Trump enjoys broad support there, having easily doubled Hillary Clinton's vote total before winning the White House in 2016. He nearly did so again against Joe Biden in 2020. But Butler County was better for Democrats two years ago, when the party's governor candidate, Josh Shapiro, got about 43% of the vote there.

To claim the swing state of Pennsylvania in November, Trump must increase voter turnout in conservative strongholds like Butler County, a predominantly white rural and suburban community with a history of voting for Republicans.

Focus on better security

On Saturday, the former president will speak where thousands of people, including children, saw him and others being shot. Corey Comperatore, former chief of the Buffalo Township Fire Company, was killed, while David Dutch and James Copenhaver were both hospitalized with injuries. The U.S. Secret Service killed the shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks.

Stunned afterward, some rally attendees held impromptu prayer groups as they walked back to their cars. It seems like almost everyone in Butler County was at the rally or knows someone who was.

Retired food service worker Sally Sarvey was collecting Trump signs and a T-shirt from a Republican Party tent during a street festival in nearby Slippery Rock last weekend. She said she will make it a point to attend Trump's return this Saturday, but she is aware of what happened in July.

Hopefully they will have more security and act more quickly, Sarvey said.

There are visible signs of the tension left behind. Fighting graffiti echoing Trump's words immediately after the shooting began appearing in Butler County over the next two weeks. In some places, the word brawl on the roads was countered by another spray-painted message: love.

The assassination attempt has been the No. 1 topic of conversation since July 13, said Jim Hulings, chairman of the Butler County Republican Committee. He has so many outstanding questions about the shooting and the subsequent investigations that he keeps an updated list.

There's a lot of activity going on right now, people want answers, Hulings said. I'm not in the minority there at all. There are a lot of people asking questions.

Security personnel inspect the site after gunshots rang out during a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania, July 13, 2024. Photo by Brendan McDermid/Reuters

The shooting was a burden on all of us

Police and emergency officials have faced questions from state police, FBI and congressional investigators looking into the shootings. The county government responded to some 300 open records requests, five times what it normally receives in a year. Many are bracing for litigation that could last for years.

I'm not going to lie, it's a burden on all of us, said Steve Bicehouse, Butler's director of emergency services. It weighs on you. And these last few months have been a difficult time.

County Commissioner Kevin Boozel, the only Democrat to hold elected office in all of Butler County, said what happened two months ago has some worried about Saturday's rally. The previous security failure is the major problem, but authorities at the July event also had to contend with extreme heat and humidity that left emergency services scrambling to treat those in distress. even before the shooting. Several people had to be hospitalized.

Boozel received numerous emails saying, “Don’t let him come back here,” he said of Trump. Because emotionally, we weren't ready for it.

Retired librarian Kathy Kline, who lives in Butler, said she supports Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential race and believes those who oppose Trump's return have not been adequately addressed into consideration. Kline belongs to a Facebook group, Butler PA Women for Kamala Harris, which has grown to about 1,500 members in recent months.

Personally, I am never opposed to a political figure coming into our community and sharing their policies, Kline said. It's the American way. But you know, you have to come in with some respect and integrity and leave all that chaos and ugliness behind.

Barry Cummings' Cafe near the Farm Show property where the shooting took place was closed briefly after the shooting. Immediately afterward, he said, he was determined to reach out to people who didn't share his political views.

I tended to try to listen more than I talked, said Cummings, a registered Democrat. He wanted to hear the other side's feelings, you know, and I think that brought us a little closer.

A drone view shows the scene where Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump stood during an assassination attempt the day before, as well as the roof of a nearby building where a gunman was shot dead by law enforcement in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 14. , 2024. Photo by Carlos Osorio/Reuters

Moving forward while remembering the past

Republican Butler County Commissioner Kim Geyer plans to attend the rally Saturday, just as she did in July when she sat behind Trump.

“I have mixed feelings about this, but I am committed to moving forward,” Geyer said. I think people who might be affected more negatively will just stay home. And people who want to feel the inspiration and energy of the Trump movement will be there to support President Trump and let him finish what he started.

Some Trump supporters are looking for ways to commemorate the assassination attempt. An artist is working on a 9-foot-tall Trump sculpture in Butler, although it's unclear where exactly it might be installed. Another artist, Bill Secunda, a Butler metalworker and Trump supporter, spent two weeks reworking a life-size sculpture of Trump to better reflect his response to being shot, with his right arm raised and his fist clenched.

Secunda and a friend quietly set him up in a tent at the Butler Farm Show in August, where he became popular for selfies. He has already received an offer of $50,000 for the sculpture.

I don’t think I even saw a sour look, which was kind of surprising because, you know, I’ve lost customers over a play like that,” Secunda said.

Meanwhile, the Butler Historical Society has suspended until at least spring its project to collect stories from local residents about the shooting. The organization is studying how it could keep these stories sealed for 75 years, as had been planned.

Geyer said she expects Butlerites will find more ways to honor the victims.

It was a tragic day and no one wants this to happen or happen in their county, Geyer said. I believe that the people who live and work here are resilient people. We were going to move forward.

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