Vermont leaders condemn political violence after Trump assassination attempt

Vermont’s political leaders were unified in their condemnation of political violence after a shooter unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.

“This is a horrifying moment for our democracy,” U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., said in a written statement issued within hours of the attack. “We must condemn violence always — it is never acceptable.”

It was around 6:10 p.m. on Saturday when gunshots rang out at Trump’s campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, according to the Associated Press . Trump, who is set to accept the Republican nomination for president at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week, sustained a gunshot injury to his ear.

Secret Service agents immediately tackled Trump to the ground to shield him. Agents then fatally shot the suspected shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.

The shooter’s motive was still unknown as of Monday afternoon, according to the Associated Press . His political inclinations were also murky, the Associated Press reported . He was registered as a Republican voter in Pennsylvania, but also made a $15 donation to a progressive political action committee on Jan. 20, 2021 — President Joe Biden’s swearing-in day.

One bystander was killed during the shooting, and two more were critically injured.

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said in a Sunday morning appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press that he thinks “everybody in this country, no matter what their political views, wishes former President Trump a rapid and speedy recovery, mourns the loss of innocent lives and those who are wounded, and understands that political violence of any kind or shape or form is unacceptable, it is un-American, and we’ve got to put an end to it.”

“I think in this traumatic moment, it’s time for all of us to take a deep breath, remember what this country is about and what political campaigns are about,” Sanders continued. “They’re about serious discussions of serious ideas as to how we address the serious problems facing this country. So let’s use this moment — if there’s any silver lining in this tragedy, it’s to figure out how we go forward peacefully, constructively and intelligently.”

Sanders, himself, is no stranger to political violence. In April, a suspect — who has since pled not guilty to federal charges — allegedly set fire to the entrance of Sanders’ Burlington office. Seven of the senator’s staffers were inside the office at the time and were safely evacuated.

“Seven people could have been burned alive, so, yeah, I am familiar with political violence in all its forms,” Sanders said on Sunday. “The bottom line is … what a democracy is about is not radical rhetoric. What it is about is a serious discussion of where we are as a nation and how we go forward.”

Also on Sunday morning, U.S. Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., wrote in a post on X, the social media website formerly known as Twitter, that she was “shocked, saddened and deeply concerned about the violence that took place at the Trump rally yesterday.”

“I unequivocally condemn political violence of any kind,” Balint added. “My thoughts are with the victims and their families.”

Republican Gov. Phil Scott, too, issued a statement on X, writing that, “America cannot be a country where we tolerate political violence, of any kind.”

“We settle our political differences in free and fair elections and form governments according to our Constitution and rule of law,” Scott continued. “There is nothing good about political violence — it must be rejected at all times and in all forms.”

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