In wake of Trump rally shooting, his Southwestern Pa. supporters are shaken but ‘vibrant’ as elected leaders urge civility

Nancy Jae, an administrative assistant from the Greene County town of Carmichaels, was left speechless when she watched on television as former President Donald Trump was injured by gunfire at his July 13 rally in Butler.

“I could not speak,” she said Sunday. “To see it happen… devastating.”

Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president this year, was injured but stable, while one person was killed and two others were seriously injured in what the FBI has termed an assassination attempt.

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Midday Sunday, Jae and a couple dozen others gathered on an Elizabeth Township overpass to wave flags and try to make sense of a seismic event they saw less than a day earlier: The candidate they believe will lead America forward was nearly killed by somebody from Allegheny County, practically a neighbor to some attendees.

“If [Trump] can do what he did last night, stand up and fight,” Jae said, referring to Trump standing up after the gunfire ended and raising his fist in the air, “this is the least we can do to show support.”

Members of the crowd at Sunday’s flag-waving above Route 51 were part of Trump’s core base, many wearing Trump shirts, waving flags with his name or image, and driving cars with pro-Trump stickers.

Dan Savage, an organizer of Sunday’s gathering, called Saturday’s shooting “a disgusting stain on America.” He was near the stage at Saturday’s rally when the shooting occurred.

“It was just one of those moments, like, wait, this isn’t right,” said Savage, who leads a group of Trump supporters that call themselves MAGA Warriors. After Trump exited the scene, “You could tell that there was crying in the crowd.”

Susan Gibala, a teacher at  Hempfield Area School District, said she thought the gunshots were fireworks as she watched Trump speak three rows away from the stage. “I’m looking at other people and we’re all just kind of confused,” Gibala said. “At that point … I heard another pop pop pop … At that point, you hear people say, ‘get down, get down,’ so I’m kind of getting moved back and forth.”

She said when she saw Trump being moved toward a vehicle, she could see that he did not appear to be seriously wounded, “So I know I’m thanking God, they got his ear, thank you Lord, thank you Lord. He has guardian angels because we’re always praying for him.”

Joe McKay, a 61-year-old Baldwin Borough man, said when he watched Trump raising his fist after the shooting on TV, “it put shivers down my spine, man. Tears went to happiness instantly.”

Election fraud claims echo after shooting

Gibala said the country faces a war going forward. “A spiritual war, for sure,” she said, “but it’s a definite war.”

She said the spiritual war is against people in government who are “all about themselves, not about god, country and freedom.”

Many flags and stickers seen at Sunday’s gathering promoted debunked theories, pushed by Trump for years, that there was systemic fraud in the 2020 election that caused Trump to lose. Multiple people interviewed by PublicSource expressed belief in those theories, as well as the belief that parts of the government are implacably against Trump.

For Savage, Saturday’s violence only strengthened his opposition to what he called a “deep state” that is responsible for government corruption and hindering Trump and his allies.

“We’re not going to put up with this anymore,” he said. “I’m stronger inside. I feel vibrant, ready to go. Let’s go, no fear. … America, you need to wake up.”

McKay said he considers Allegheny County the “most corrupt county” in the country, citing disproven claims of voter fraud in 2020.

Motive unknown

Trump was at the Butler Farm Show for a rally in the reliably Republican county north of Pittsburgh. While President Joe Biden narrowly won the battleground state in 2020, Trump took Butler County by a margin of nearly two-to-one.

Around six minutes into his remarks, multiple shots were fired from a building outside of the security perimeter. Trump’s ear was grazed, former Buffalo Township Fire Chief Corey Comperatore was shot fatally , and two other people were injured and taken by helicopter to Allegheny General Hospital.

Trump on Sunday issued a statement praying for those wounded, honoring Comperatore and urging: “In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand United, and show our True Character as Americans, remaining Strong and Determined, and not allowing Evil to Win.”

Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20 , of Bethel Park, was also killed and has been identified as the gunman. Crooks was a registered Republican with a history of a single $15 donation to the left-leaning ActBlue Political Action Committee in 2021. Law enforcement told reporters that a legally purchased AR-15 rifle was used in the shooting and bomb-making materials were found in Crooks’ car parked in Butler and at the home his family has owned since 1998.

Biden made a three-minute live statement to reporters shortly after 2 p.m., saying he had no information on the shooter’s motive. He cautioned against speculation. “Let the FBI do their job and the partner agencies do their job,” he urged, pledging a “thorough and swift” probe.

Biden also said he was “consistent” in demanding that the government provide Trump with the best possible security. “I’ve directed an independent review of the security at yesterday’s rally,” he said.

“We must unite as one nation and demonstrate who we are,” the president added, saying he’ll speak again from the Oval Office tonight.

Violence decried

Reaction across the political spectrum consisted largely of revulsion at the act, and distress at a toxic political environment that has now turned violent.

Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, held a news conference early Sunday afternoon, deferring questions about the investigation into any security lapses that allowed Crooks to get within firing range of Trump while sharing some of his conversations with Biden and with Comperatore’s family, and calling for civility.

Allegheny County Councilman Sam DeMarco, who is also the chair of the county Republican Committee, decried the heated political climate.

DeMarco, though, also issued a statement saying the Democratic Party is in “the grip of irrational ideologues.”

DeMarco wrote that “calling Donald Trump ‘an existential threat’ to our nation produced an act that should surprise no one: A disturbed young man attempted to end the former president’s existence.”

County Executive Sara Innamorato and Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, both Democrats, also railed against political violence.

State Rep. Rob Mercuri, of Pine, who is a Republican nominee for Congress seeking the seat held by Democrat Chris Deluzio, called for unity “and respect for those who disagree with us.”

Deluzio, of Thornburg, wrote that he hoped Trump was OK.

Social media channels, though, also echoed with misinformation .

The Republican National Convention, at which Trump is set to be formally nominated for another term, starts Monday in Milwaukee. The Democratic National Convention, in Chicago, begins on Aug. 19. Both candidates won their parties’ primaries in a race that was roiled by a June 27 debate that featured Biden’s lapses of concentration and Trump’s falsehoods.

Charlie Wolfson is PublicSource’s local government reporter. He can be reached at charlie@publicsource.org .

Stephanie Strasburg is a photojournalist with PublicSource who can be reached at stephanie@publicsource.org, on Instagram @stephaniestrasburg or on Twitter @stephstrasburg .

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