From July 2024 to September 2024, two assassination attempts were made on the life of Former President Donald Trump. The attempts differed in motive and context with the Former President left standing at the end.
Attempt 1:
On July 13, 2024, Republican Party candidate Donald Trump hosted a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The rally was equipped with multiple Secret Service counter snipers, Butler County law enforcement as well as Former President Trump’s bodyguards. However, around 6 p.m., witnesses noticed a man climbing to the roof of a single-story building with a rifle. Butler County Sheriff Michael Slupe expressed that a law enforcement officer also climbed to the roof. The Federal Bureau of Investigation identified the shooter to be Thomas Matthew Crooks.
While Former President Trump was giving his speech on immigration, three gunshots were fired. Former President Trump crouched and was covered by secret service agents and ushered off the stage. As he left the stage he fist pumped the air and showed his bloody ear that had been wounded by the shooting. A few minutes after the initial three shots, five more followed in succession.
One attendee, Corey Comperatore, was said to have protected his wife and daughter with his own body and died. Two other spectators that were to the left of Former President Trump’s position on the stage were also critically wounded. Several other audience members faced minor injuries. During this time, Secret Service snipers countered the shooter’s attacks and critically wounded him, which ultimately resulted in his death.
According to AP News, it was later revealed that Crooks, a 20-year-old registered Republican, bought 50 rounds of 5.56 mm ammunition for his AK-15-style rifle. There were also comments from previous classmates expressing that Crooks had tried out for the hunting club, but was refused due to poor shooting skills. Additionally, Crooks was known to wear hunting attire to classes and was bullied for his choices.
Attempt 2:
On Sept. 15, 2024, Former President Trump faced a second assassination attempt. The suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was found with food and a rifle waiting for 12 hours outside the Former President’s golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida. Secret Service agents noticed an AK-style rifle in greenery surrounding the course. When an agent shot, Routh fled to an SUV leaving the rifle and two backpacks.
Former President Trump was not injured in this encounter. The suspect, Routh, is being charged with obtaining a firearm despite a prior felony conviction, possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number and other possible charges. As an unaffiliated voter, Routh has supported both the Republican and Democratic parties in North Carolina, where the suspect lived for a majority of his life.
After the first attempt to take his life, Former President Trump reacted with comments such as “GOD BLESS AMERICA” and general appreciation for his supporters on his Truth Social account. After the second attempt, Former President Trump’s response changed to be a reflection of the Biden-Harris administration. He told Fox News, without citing any evidence, that the shooter “believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris, and he acted on it.” Former President Trump also expressed that the Biden-Harris “rhetoric is causing (him) to be shot at, when (he is) the one who is going to save the country, and (Biden and Harris) are the ones that are destroying the country.”
