Butler 'united and stronger than ever' year after Trump assassination attempt, Kelly says

A year ago today, U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly didn’t know what to make of the loud popping sounds he heard.

Then, after hearing another burst, he realized they were gunshots.

What to that point had been a jubilant campaign rally for Donald Trump at the Butler Farm Show grounds was thrown into chaos.

Kelly moved to cover two women seated beside him: Butler’s Malphine Fogel, the 95-year-old mother of a Western Pennsylvania man then being held in a Russian prison, and Republican National Committeewoman Christine Toretti of Indiana County.

About 50 feet away, Secret Service agents rushed to shield a bloodied Trump and lead him to safety.

Shots fired that day by Thomas Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park struck Trump’s right ear, killed Corey Comperatore of Buffalo Township and seriously injured David Dutch of Plum and James Copenhaver of Moon. A shot fired by a Secret Service sniper killed Crooks, who had been perched on a roof about 150 yards from the event stage.

One year after the first attempted assassination of a current or former U.S. president in more than four decades, Kelly and other officials say the event has led to reforms at the Secret Service and in security planning locally while also bringing many people in the community closer together.

“As we reflect on the tragic events that unfolded in Butler, Pa., one year ago this weekend, may we pray for the Comperatore family as they continue to heal; for David Dutch and James Copenhaver, who were injured; and for President Trump, who continues to serve our great nation despite not one, but two assassination attempts,” Kelly, a Republican from Butler, said in a statement.

Two months after the attempted assassination in Butler, Secret Service agents thwarted a man’s plot to kill Trump at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Fla.

“In the wake of tragedy, the Butler community remains united and stronger than ever,” Kelly added.

Local leaders echoed Kelly.

“I don’t think that event, in and of itself, changed who we are in Butler County. It doesn’t define us, but certainly, it put us on a national stage to the extent that we have to show people who we are as people,” said Butler County Commissioners Chairman Leslie Osche.

Osche described Comperatore as “everything we represent here in Butler County,” noting that he worked in manufacturing and was a volunteer firefighter who was dedicated to his church and family.

“Butler County has been, unfortunately, irreversibly marked by tragedy, but through tragedy comes triumph, strength and resiliency,” Butler County Commissioners Vice Chairwoman Kim Geyer said.

“There’s been a lot of reflection over the past year,” Geyer added. “The willingness of thousands of Pennsylvanians returning (to the Butler Farm Show grounds) when President Trump (held another campaign event there) in October speaks to the strength and resiliency of the American people.”

Osche, a Republican, pointed out that Butler County overwhelmingly voted for Trump. He defeated Democratic nominee Kamala Harris by a nearly 2-to-1 margin last November.

“One can only assume there is some connection (Trump has) with our people here,” she said.

Osche said county officials have learned more about planning and preplanning for large-scale events in a way that does “not let politics come in the way of public safety.”

Geyer, also a Republican, added, “I think our law enforcement and EMS are continuing to train, and they continue to work on areas they need to work on to help them carry out their duties.”

Members of Congress, including Kelly, and the Secret Service also have worked over the past year to make the federal law enforcement agency stronger. Kelly chaired a bipartisan House committee that investigated the attempted assassination.

“In the year since the attempted assassination of President Trump, Congress has taken significant steps to investigate the events of July 13. Our Task Force produced nearly 40 recommendations to modernize the Secret Service and to better protect America’s leaders,” Kelly said.

Secret Service Director Sean Curran said Thursday that, over the past year, the agency has taken a hard, internal look at its operations and reviewed recommendations made by external oversight groups, including the House task force chaired by Kelly.

Of 46 recommendations from congressional oversight bodies, Curran said the Secret Service has implemented 21 of them, 16 are in progress and nine were referred to what he called non-Secret Service stakeholders.

Among reforms made, Curran said, the agency has changed protective operations policies to “ensure clear lines of accountability and improved information sharing with local law enforcement partners.” It also has created an aviation and airspace security division to enhance its security operations.

“Like many in the Butler community, I still have questions about everything that led up to, and unfolded on, July 13,” Kelly said. “May we continue to pursue the truth to get the American people the answers they deserve.”