This Saturday, former President Donald Trump will return to Butler Farm Show grounds in Butler, Pennsylvania, the same location where a gunman attempted to assassinate him earlier this year.
"President Donald J. Trump will return to Butler, Pennsylvania to hold a rally on the very same ground where he came within a quarter of an inch of losing his life less than three months ago," said the Trump campaign in a news release.
#BREAKING
— AXnews (@AXnewscorp) October 3, 2024
Trump says he's going back to Butler, PA because he has "an obligation" to do so.
"We never finished what we were supposed to do. I said that day when I was shot, we're coming back."
pic.twitter.com/27GfsHqDoT
At the rally, Trump will honor former Buffalo Township Fire Company Chief Corey Comperatore, who was killed at the July 13 rally where Trump and two others, David Dutch and James Copenhaver, were injured.
The gunman, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, fired 8 shots at the former President, hitting Trump in the ear before Crooks was killed by Secret Service.
"I'm not going, but if I did, I think I'd feel safe," said Lyndora resident Paul Strobel told the Tribune-Review. "I certainly hope they have better security this time."
"There are people who can't wait for him to come back, and there are people who have said we're not ready yet, that we need some more time to heal," said Butler County Sheriff Michael Slupe.
NEW INFO on fmr. president Trump’s return to Butler Oct. 5th. Robin King & her husband went to the first rally. She took these pictures from the bleachers not far from Trump or from where Corey Comperatore was killed.https://t.co/WeNeGfZdcD@KDKA pic.twitter.com/PvQSGQZX3z
— Jennifer Borrasso (@JenBorrasso) September 25, 2024
Trump's return to the location he was almost killed in has elicited many mixed feelings from Butler residents and Trump supporters alike. Jim Hulings, chairman of the Butler County Republican Committee, reported that he kept a running list of questions he has pertaining to the shooting and the investigations surrounding it.
"There's a lot of activity going on right now, people wanting answers," Hulings said. "I am not in a minority there at all. There's a lot of people asking questions."
Chloe Wiley, 32, and Matt Cooper, 23, believe that Trump's return signals that "he's not scared." Wiley and Cooper operate a Trump merchandise stand minutes away from the show grounds.
Trump announces he will be going back to Butler, PA 🇺🇸🙏🏼🔥 pic.twitter.com/0RgqusyDEU
— TONY™ (@TONYxTWO) July 26, 2024
Others believe that Trump's return to the city is a bad idea. Butler residents Kim Bietz and Fran Robinson think that Trump should not return to their city, citing concerns over his safety,
"I think it's dangerous for him to come back," Bietz said. "I think he's asking for it."
Since July, one more incident in which a gunman aimed to assassinate the former President has been confirmed, in which gunman Ryan Wesley Routh was seen with a rifle at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida while Trump was golfing at the club. The former President was not injured, and Routh was indicted for the attempted assassination.
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