Motorcade leaves Butler after shooting at Trump rally
Presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump is safe after shots were apparently fired at a campaign rally.
His motorcade left Butler Memorial Hospital, where he had been checked for injuries, around 9 p.m.
Gunshots erupted moments after Trump stepped on stage Saturday for a campaign rally.
District Attorney Rich Goldinger said Saturday afternoon that one spectator had been killed by a gunshot, another had been critically injured and the person who fired the shots was killed by law enforcement.
Trump dropped to the ground after a series of loud pops and was escorted off stage by Secret Service agents.
He had just started speaking moments earlier at a rally at the Butler Farm Show grounds.
State Attorney General Michelle Henry issued a statement Saturday:
“I am deeply disturbed by this act of violence that has absolutely no place in the Commonwealth or anywhere. My regards are with the families who will be forever impacted by this heinous act. I am hopeful for a speedy recovery for former President Trump. We are in contact with our law enforcement partners and will work cooperatively with them.”
Bishop David Zubik of the Diocese of Pittsburgh also issued a statement.
“We are deeply shocked by news reports of the shooting at a political rally for former President Trump, right across the street from one of our churches in Butler County. We are grateful for the swift actions of the Secret Service and our local first responders. Let us join together in prayer for the health and safety of all, for healing and peace, and for an end to this climate of violence in our world. May God guide and protect us all.”
The crowd was evacuated. One rally attendee, James Sweetland, a retired physician from DuBois, said he was sitting in the bleachers when the shots were fired.
He said he performed CPR on someone who had a head wound, but said he didn’t see anyone fire the shots.
The rally comes just before the Republican National Convention, as Trump works to solidify support from voters in a predominantly Republican county and possibly drum up support from undecided voters.
Current presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump took the stage shortly after 6 p.m. at the Butler County Farm Show Grounds.
Trump entered to cheers while a cover of Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA“ played.
He started by commenting on the size of the crowd. Thousands of people came to the event.
Trump endorsed U.S. Senate candidate David McCormick, calling him “a valiant fighter.”
People started arriving early Saturday morning for the event, and on Buttercup and Meridian roads leading up to the grounds, residents offered paid parking, with costs ranging from $20-$40.
Matt Veronesi, of Butler Township, stood in a driveway on Buttercup Road near a sign that said “Parking: $40 per car.”
Because those going to the rally could park at the Farm Show first thing in the morning, Veronesi was not seeing any business early on.
“We’re here for the long haul,” Veronesi said. “If we have to lower the price, we will.”
He figured he would fill his friend’s 3 acres — where he estimated he could fit 300 cars — once Farm Show parking filled up.
Lemonade stands were also set up to offer refreshment to people trying to beat the traffic on foot. On the grounds themselves, vendors were selling flags, refreshments and t-shirts.
Volunteers asked members of the crowd if they were registered to vote and helping to register those who weren’t.
Shortly before 3 p.m. Cindy Hildebrand, chairwoman of the United Republicans of Butler County, said the event has run smoothly so far with free water bottles for visitors.
The temperature hit 90 degrees Fahrenheit, and one attendee, Marsena Rumburg, of Butler Township, a nurse, said she helped an elderly woman who lost consciousness. Rumburg said the heat and underlying health conditions likely contributed.
According to the schedule for the rally, speakers were supposed to start around 3 p.m., with Trump scheduled to take the stage at 5 p.m.
U.S. Senate candidate David McCormick spoke just before 4:30 p.m., and U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-16th, was scheduled to follow him.
As people waited for the event to kick off, they explained what drew them there.
Nancy Riley, 92, of Pittsburgh, said she was a Democrat for 80 years. She expressed border security as one reason she will vote for Trump. She also said Biden was too old to run.
“I want (the country) the way it was before,” she said.
Younger people were also present. Cooper Fleming and Carson Festa, both 16, drove an hour to be at the rally. While they won’t be able to vote in November, both said they support Trump for president. They said they want to see gas prices lowered.
Michelle Bourdeais, of Cranberry Township, came into the grounds carrying a sign that she had been laid off from an e-commerce company Venus Fashion 6 months ago. Since then she has applied to 2,800 jobs.
She attributes the layoff to competition driven by Chinese companies like Temu, Shein and TikTok, which she said were mentioned in the layoff notice she was given. She said she supports Trump because of his stance on imposing tariffs on Chinese goods. She said she worries for her daughter and other young people searching for jobs.
“Somebody needs to represent the youth to get them jobs,” she said.
Not everyone was there to support Trump, however.
Brian Howley, of Monroeville, said while he’s not a Trump supporter, he attended the rally to “experience a cultural phenomenon.”
Tom Gleason, of Bethel Park, is a West Point graduate, registered Republican and veteran. Gleason, who is part of the organization Veterans for Responsible Leadership, said he doesn’t believe Trump is fit to be president. He said his purpose in attending the rally is to have conversations with people and share his point of view.
It was caution tape, souvenirs, parking opportunists and flags on Meridian and Buttercup roads Saturday morning, as the neighborhood anticipated the rally at the Farm Show to be attended by former President Donald Trump, who is the assumed Republican presidential candidate in the 2024 election.
At 8 a.m., when the only public entrance to the Farm Show on Buttercup Road was opened, all of Buttercup was lined with cars, with about a dozen cars backed up on Meridian Road.
State police with cruiser lights flashing guided southbound cars on Meridian Road around the corner and onto Buttercup to wait in line to enter the Farm Show.
Temporary digital signs warned motorist not to park on Meridian Road or Evans City Road.
By early afternoon, traffic was moving very slowly along Meridian and Buttercup roads, and continued to be bumper-to-bumper for several hours.
About 80 people attended the rally in support of Marc Fogel, the Butler native imprisoned in Russia since 2021, and his mother, Malphine Fogel.
Deb Zarnick, administrator of Free Marc Fogel Facebook page said 80 people are showing up to the rally dressed in T-shirts to show their support.
Zarnick said the group came to the rally not for politics, but to raise awareness.
“It’s about getting Marc’s name heard nationally to people, advocates, who can bring him home,” she said.
Earlier this week, Malphine Fogel issued a plea to meet with Trump about her son’s case.
“As the matriarch of the Fogel family, I am respectfully asking former President Trump, Republican nominee for president, to meet with me on Marc’s behalf while he will be in Butler this Saturday,” she said in a video released Wednesday. “I’m hoping that President Trump will take the time to understand the importance of America standing behind a teacher from a regular family in a small town (in) Pennsylvania and express support for designating Marc as wrongfully detained and bringing him home, as the Biden administration did with Brittney Griner and as President Trump has committed to do with Evan Gershkovich.”
In remarks around 4 p.m., Sean Parnell, who ran for U.S. House in 2020, criticized President Joe Biden and his administration for ignoring Marc Fogel, as did U.S. Senate candidate David McCormick.
McCormick called for better leadership and for the return of Marc Fogel and Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter accused of espionage.
