Nancy Jakubczyk stood near the back of the campaign rally, where it was cooler, until she heard the song “God Bless the USA” and the cheers of the crowd, and she watched as the former President Donald Trump took the stage.
Minutes later, she heard shots, three that sounded close to her, near the fence, and then five quick ones, she said. Immediately, she feared Trump had been killed.
“I called my son, and he answered the phone. He goes, 'What are you talking about?' I said, there were just shots fired. You’re right. They’re gonna try to kill him,” Jakubczyk said.
Jakubczyk, of Whitehouse Station in Hunterdon County, recalled the harrowing events that unfolded at Trump's rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, where a gunman fired at the stage from a building rooftop about 150 yards away. Trump said in a social media post that he was injured when a bullet pierced the upper part of his right ear. An attendee and the gunman were shot and killed, while two more people were seriously injured.
In the confusing moments after the assassination attempt, Jakubczyk was relaying crucial information to the crowd from her son, who was watching it on television.
"They’re showing it now. They have him down, they have him up. He’s alive. He's a little bloody,” her son told her.
“People were relieved at that, but it was a little bit nerve-wracking just thinking what happened to our man," she said. "Everybody was there for Trump. Nobody was there for themselves. Everybody cared about Trump.”
The event in Butler was the third Trump rally that Jakubczyk has attended since 2016. A former Democratic district leader in Union County, Jakubczyk said she did not vote strictly along party lines. She supported local Democrats for office in Union County, where she lived before moving to Hunterdon County five years ago. But, disillusioned with national Democratic leaders, she supported Trump for president four years ago and today.
On Sunday, wearing a dress adorned with images of Trump’s face, she joined about two dozen people to rally in support of Trump in Bedminster, near Trump’s golf club.
Jakubczyk said she did not fear for her safety at the rally, adding that the gunshots quickly subsided and she assumed the danger was over. Amid questions about strength of security, Jakubczyk said she had faced walk-through and hand-held metal detectors. She saw law enforcement and security personnel both outside and inside the rally grounds. There were vehicles lined up along the entrance, so no cars could break through the fence.
But like others, she was surprised that a gunman was able to access the roof of a building behind the fence from where she was standing near the EMT area. The building stands about 150 yards away from the stage, outside the rally perimeter.
Despite Saturday’s shooting, Jakubczyk said she would not hesitate to attend another Trump rally. In the future, she said, she will talk about this historic moment as one that helped to propel the Republican candidate to another presidential term.
“Ten years from now, I'll tell them, this is why Trump wins, because he never gives up," she said. "He is always willing to fight for us to make sure that we get our country the way we need our country run.
“They can't get rid of Trump," she added. "No matter how hard they try to make people not like him."
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