Why I went back to Butler for Donald Trump’s rally after being inches away from being assassinated

Supporters who were present in Pennsylvania on July 13 when former President Donald Trump was shot returned Saturday with mixed feelings to close the rally.

For Inga from Northern Butler County, who was there that day, it was more than just a political rally.

She was in the stands on July 13 and vividly remembers the details of that day.

“The gentleman to my right and the gentleman to my left were both shot,” she recalled.

They didn’t know each other, but as they waited for the meeting to start, they started talking.

“We were visiting all the time, we didn’t know each other,” she said.

Although she did not know their names at the time, the shooting victims were identified as 57-year-old David Dutch, of New Kensington, PA, and 74-year-old James Copenhaver, of Moon Township, PA.

“They were both veterans,” she recalled. “They’ve been through wars, they served their country, they risked their lives for us to have the freedom to do these things, and they come here to enjoy a patriotic day and this is what happened.” should not happen,” she said.

After the shooting, she had a ringing in her ear for days and couldn’t understand why. She said her husband, a military veteran, explained that a bullet passing her head could cause a concussion.

Her life changed that day, knowing that she was spared the bullets that hit the people next to her that day.

When she heard Trump was returning to Butler, Inga had no doubt she would return to finish the meeting.

She arrived early Saturday morning and went to the same location in Butler and stood in line with fellow Trump supporters.

“I love it, I love it, it’s a safe feeling,” she said. “This is huge, I’m trying to unite, this city has huge Christian values ​​and we need to take that back.”

The experience, she said, also made her decide about the importance of the upcoming election. She was at a rally for Trump, but explained that there was more at stake than the former president as a candidate.

“It’s not just for him in general, it’s good versus evil, it’s mainly that,” she said. ‘It’s not party against party, it’s good against evil. And President Trump, he’s a man, he’s not perfect, none of us are. He has the morals this country needs. We want it back and the only way to do that is to fight.”

Michael from Natrona Heights, Pennsylvania took his son Parker to a Trump rally that day in July.

Michael and his son Parker of Datrona Heights, Pennsylvania

“I took him to meet a president and be part of history,” he said. “I didn’t think we would be that part of history.”

A former Army soldier, he recalled first hearing gunshots at the July rally.

“After the first two blasts I knew what they were, I grabbed my son and shouted, ‘Get the f down, that’s the military instinct in me,'” he said.

Michael admitted that if they hadn’t stopped for chili cheese fries that day in July, they probably would have been in the stands where people had been hit by the bullets.

They left that day feeling that something was unfinished and that the country had changed too.

Michael said he was disappointed after that day to hear people who hated Trump express regret that the shooter had missed.

“People wanted this to happen. “I don’t understand why they feel that way,” he said.

But when Trump announced he would return to cross the finish line, his son Parker was determined to return.

“He kept harassing me until I got online and registered,” Michael said. ‘No hesitation.’

So when they got back to the Butler Farm showground, they both lined up for some food.

When asked what he was going to order, Parker grinned and replied, “Chili cheese fries.”

Scott and Cathy from Evansburg, Pennsylvania, were just twelve rows away from the stage when they arrived at the Butler rally in July.

Scott and Cathy from Evansburg

From the moment they arrived they commented on the lack of security, it was easy to enter the venue and the alleys were filled with people who had not been ordered to leave.

“It was crazy,” Scott said. “I said, ‘Something’s not right here.'”

Cathy was filming Trump on her phone when shots rang out, prompting Scott to grab his wife and throw her to the ground to protect her.

“When people heard the shooter had been shot, everyone got back up, no one wanted to leave,” she said.

Everyone around them wanted to see if Trump was still alive because they saw the blood streaming down his face.

After Trump was evacuated, people stood for a while, unclear whether the former president was alive or dead. They eventually left quietly, wondering what would happen to the land.

“I knew at that moment that if he died, life as we knew it was over,” Scott recalled thinking. “It never came back.”

When they heard Trump would return, they had no doubt they would return to the rally.

“Oh, we’re here, we knew we were coming,” they said. “We wouldn’t have missed it for nothing.”

The return to the meeting only added to their resolve in the upcoming election, but they also felt uneasy about President Joe Biden’s response to the hurricane in North Carolina.

“It’s always been about ‘We the People’ and our country and taking it back, but now, after the hurricane that came through, and you’ve got these poor people in North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia,” Scott said. ‘It’s about life and death. We don’t do anything for them. It’s about them now.’

He argued that Trump was not perfect, but that he was serious about solving the country’s problems.

“We all have skeletons in our closet or whatever, but if he has the best interests of the country at heart, he gives us a good life and a safe country to live in. I’m happy.’

Republican candidate Donald Trump is seen with blood on his face, surrounded by Secret Service agents, as he is taken off stage during a campaign event at Butler Farm Show Inc. in Butler, Pennsylvania, July 13, 2024.

Supporters arrive before Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump, speaks during a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show, Saturday, October 5, 2024

David and Donna from West Virginia recalled hearing the sound of the shots and at first thinking they were fireworks before hitting the ground to protect themselves from what they were shooting.

Donna recalled hearing “blood-curdling screams” and thinking Trump was dead. She also remembered a little boy behind her crying.

Various scenarios went through their minds, thinking there could still be an active shooter, or a few shooters.

“I thought, ‘I’m going to die here,’” Donna recalled.

They heard from other rallygoers that Trump was still alive, but there was blood on his face.

But when they heard Trump was returning, they had no doubt they would return.

“Now we’re back and the case isn’t over yet,” David said.

But returning to the rally location felt surreal for both of them.

“When I first got here I said, ‘I can’t believe we’re here again, it was a bit creepy,’” Donna said.

Jan from Butler, Pennsylvania

Jan from Pennsylvania was about 30 feet from Corey Comperatore that day and was in the VIP section on the day of the shooting.

Like others, she at first thought the gunfire was fireworks until she hit the ground and heard people screaming.

She recalled hearing a “low rumbling” in the crowd after the shooting as news spread that Trump was still alive, but she still wasn’t entirely sure.

“It took me a week to process what I saw,” she recalled, noting that bodies were still being removed.

When she heard Trump was coming back, she admitted she thought about it for a while, but realized she couldn’t miss it.

“We are passionate, you come back and your mind goes back to where you were and you know that the risk he takes to do what he is doing now is intense, your thoughts to go to safety and to him,” said they .

Returning to the site, she said, brought mixed feelings, but determination.

“I flash back to that moment, anticipation, excitement, no fear, no fear, no fear,” she said. “Prayers. Constant prayer. There are prayers flying everywhere. In my heart right now. God has it all in His hands.”