Two men seriously injured in a Pennsylvania assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump have accused the Secret Service of “100% negligence.”
James Copenhaver, 74, and David Dutch, 57, were each seriously injured by two gunshots during a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Notably, firefighter Corey Comperatore, 50, was killed while protecting his family from sniper fire.
“I think the Secret Service, probably everyone involved in setting up that security, all the way down to the communication between the departments, was 100% at fault,” Dutch told NBC News. “The negligence was huge. It was terrible.”
Copenhaver echoed the Dutch concerns. “There was definitely some negligence,” he said, noting that better security protocols could have prevented the attack. “If we had been safe, that wouldn’t have happened.”
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Asked whether the Secret Service could have failed to protect both Trump and the attendees at the Butler Farm Show, Dutch said, “It’s a big deal.”
“The whole security setup was inadequate,” he told NBC News. “I was just angry that something like this happened.”
“That shouldn’t have happened,” Dutch said. He had been shot in the liver and said it felt like he had been “hit in the chest with a sledgehammer.” He also said he saw pieces of metal and parts of the bleachers “splattered around” as gunshots rang out.
Both survivors have serious health problems.
Dutch still suffers from the effects of the shooting, and health issues have limited his mobility and left him unable to drive or lift objects weighing more than 10 pounds.
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Copenhaver, who was shot in the triceps and abdomen, said, “I turned to my friend and said, “I think I got shot.” That’s when I got hit by a second bullet and collapsed.” Ta. Since the attack, Copenhaver has lost 30 pounds, suffers from occasional abdominal pains and now requires a cane to walk. “I never thought I would be in this position. Normally I was in a role of helping others,” he told NBC News.
Dutch and Copenhaver lawyers plan to file a lawsuit against those responsible for this tragic incident after completing their investigation.
A Senate inquiry last month found the assassination attempt by Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was “foreseeable” and “preventable”.
