Donald Trump announced Friday that he will soon revisit Butler, Pa., where a would-be assassin made an attempt on his life just two weeks ago.
Gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, shot at Trump from a rooftop during the president’s July 13 campaign rally in Butler, injuring Trump, killing former firefighter, Corey Comperatore, and critically wounding rally-goers James Copenhaver and David Dutch.
“I will be going back to Butler, Pennsylvania, for a big and beautiful rally, honoring the soul of our beloved firefighting hero, Corey, and those brave patriots injured two weeks ago,” Trump said Friday on TruthSocial. “What a day it will be — fight, fight, fight! Stay tuned for details.”
Trump is already slated to return to Pennsylvania next week for a rally in Harrisburg, Pa., at the Pennsylvania Farm Show, but it is unclear when the Butler rally will take place. The Harrisburg Police Department, the U.S. Secret Service, Pennsylvania State Police, and Pennsylvania Capitol Police, will be on high alert during Trump’s visit next week, as Congress investigates the security mishaps that led to the failed assassination attempt.
“The Pennsylvania State Police routinely aids USSS and our federal partners during large events in Pennsylvania and will always provide any and all resources needed to ensure the safety of Pennsylvanians,” state police said on Friday.
Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle resigned after lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee grilled her over how Crooks was able to get within 150 yards of Trump, and fire multiple shots, before police stopped him. The Secret Service and FBI are conducting investigations into the security blunder, which Cheatle said in the hearing was the agency’s most consequential failure in decades.
“The Oversight Committee’s hearing resulted in Director Cheatle’s resignation and there will be more accountability to come. The Secret Service has a no-fail mission yet it failed historically on Director Cheatle’s watch,” committee chairman James Comer (R., Ky.) said in a statement. “While Director Cheatle’s resignation is a step toward accountability, we need a full review of how these security failures happened so that we can prevent them going forward.”