Comperatore remembered by community, Trump at rally
CONNOQUENESSING TWP — For those who had been in attendance at former President Donald Trump’s rally in July, the toll of a bell at the Butler Farm Show grounds Saturday, Oct. 5, may have called to mind the gunshots that pierced the air and rang out across the field a few months before.
About 30 minutes into his speech at 6:11 p.m., Trump called for a moment of silence in remembrance of Corey Comperatore, the former chief of the Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Company who was killed by a 20-year-old gunman who opened fire on the former president minutes into his speech.
Comperatore, of Buffalo Township, died shielding his family from gunfire. James Copenhaver, 74, of Moon Township, and David Dutch, 57, of New Kensington, were severely injured.
On Saturday, the bleacher stands where Comperatore sat in July held his firefighter’s jacket and a wreath in his honor.
“This field is now a monument to the valor of our first responders, to the resilience of our fellow citizens and to the sacrifice of a loving and devoted father and a really great man,” Trump said.
Just then, the crowd broke out in a chant that had also been heard earlier: “Corey. Corey. Corey.”
The presidential candidate also commended first responders, hospital staff and local law enforcement, as well as the members of the Secret Service who covered him, for their efforts during the July 13 rally and in its wake.
Trump noted that Dutch was present at the rally.
“They were very brave, great people,” Trump said of Copenhaver and Dutch. “They were big Trump fans, and they still are.”
“Of course, there’s one more hero who could not make it back here tonight because he is no longer with us, right?” he said. “Corey, our beautiful Corey — Corey is not with us tonight, but he should be.”
“He’s become somewhat of a folk hero,” he said.
Trump further described Comperatore as a “devout Christian” and “veteran” with “tremendous courage,” and he commented on his work as a former fire chief.
He said that backstage he was able to speak with Comperatore’s wife, Helen, and their two daughters.
“Few men volunteer to run into fires, but Corey was one of those who did,” Trump said. “He ran into fires … he was also a protector who put his life on the line for others. And he loved doing it.
“And when the sound of gunshots pierced the air on that July evening, Corey leapt into the fire one more time.”
As rallygoers discussed their intentions for attending the campaign event, they touched on the significance of the event being held at the same site where Trump had survived an attempt on his life and a rallygoer had died.
For Mark Henry and his wife, Jodi, of Latrobe, the opportunity to attend the rally in Connoquenessing Township — which saw visitors from around the country and media from around the world — was also an opportunity to pay homage to Comperatore.
Mark Henry displayed several paintings commemorating the July 13 rally, including some of Comperatore, to memorialize the thwarted assassination and the death of the father of two. He painted them shortly after he heard about the shooting.
“I hope (the rally) offers comfort,” Henry said. “Seeing all these happy people, and all this positive energy, and seeing the amount of Secret Service making sure nothing like that happens again — there’s something healing about that.”
“He’s an innocent guy who came here to support his candidate, and he gave his life for him,” said rallygoer John Maratta, of Aliquippa.
Local leaders and speakers also remembered Comperatore, with artist Scott LoBaido creating a live painting with his likeness on stage.
Dr. James Sweetland, who was sitting in the bleachers during the rally in July, administered aid to Comperatore after he was shot.
As Sweetland addressed the crowd Saturday, he also called Comperatore a hero, recalling that he had hesitated for a moment.
Then, he said, he heard a voice telling him to “Go. Go. They need your help.” Sweetland said he believes that was the voice of God.
“I’ve been called a hero many times,” Sweetland said, but the word is something he admitted to struggling with. “Because in that pantheon of heroes, I’m in the bottom rung. Corey Comperatore is at the top.”
