James Copenhaver, injured in assassination attempt on Trump, dies from complications

<p>James Copenhaver, of Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, who was wounded in an assassination attempt on President Donald Trump in 2024, has died, according to multiple reports.</p><p>Copenhaver, in his mid-70s, was one of several individuals shot by Thomas Matthew Crooks, who scaled the roof of a nearby glass manufacturing building and aimed at the then-presidential candidate during a rally at the Butler Farm Show complex outside Butler, Pennsylvania.</p><p>A family member directed Fox News Digital to a Pittsburgh-area law firm for confirmation and further comment. </p><p>The House Republican Conference posted an obituary for Copenhaver on social media, stating he died on Thursday and that lawmakers were "deeply saddened."</p><p>"Jim endured unimaginable hardship with strength and perseverance. We join his family and loved ones in mourning his loss and praying for them during this difficult time. May he rest in peace," the caucus stated.</p><p>Ken Silva, a journalist who wrote a book about the assassination attempt, reported on his website that a person close to Copenhaver's family confirmed his death and noted that Copenhaver had been dealing with permanent injuries, including bullet fragments still lodged in his body.</p><p>David Dutch was also injured in the shooting but survived. Butler County firefighter Corey Comperatore was shot and killed in the bleachers behind Trump’s dais that day.</p><p>In 2025, Copenhaver recounted his experience to Pittsburgh's KDKA, stating that he stood to look at the jumbotron behind him as Trump spoke.</p><p>"Next thing I know, my sleeve has been yanked," he said. "I could see a portion of it going by pretty fast, and I heard 'pew.' I heard it, and I didn't realize at the time that I had gotten shot."</p><p>He mentioned being shot a second time but that the bullets both "went into soft material."</p><p>"It was like a jolt. It didn't knock me over, but I didn't want to stand anymore," he told the station.</p><p>A lawsuit Copenhaver filed against the United States earlier this year alleged he was required to undergo multiple surgeries.</p><p>Mayor Jondavid Longo of nearby Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania, who spoke at the Butler rally, expressed condolences regarding Copenhaver’s reported death.</p><p>Longo stated, "[Copenhaver] survived that day, but he never fully recovered from the wounds. For two years he lived with surgeries, remaining fragments, and pain that never left him. Those of us who were there that day have never forgotten Corey Comperatore, David Dutch, or Jim."</p><p>He added, "Butler County still carries that afternoon. May he rest in peace. Prayers for Marianne and the Copenhaver family."</p><p>The attack led to increased scrutiny of the Secret Service after investigations revealed breakdowns in planning, communication, and security around the rally site. Then-Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned less than two weeks later, taking responsibility for the security lapse. A subsequent bipartisan House task force concluded the Butler attack was preventable and identified failures in planning, execution, and leadership.</p><p>One of the Republican lawmakers on that task force, Rep. Carlos Gimenez of Florida, climbed onto the roof Crooks used to take aim at Trump and later expressed disbelief at how easily it was to scale after Cheatle cited the roof’s slope as a reason it was not secured.</p><p>Six Secret Service agents were later suspended without pay in connection with the failures.</p><p>Trump returned to Butler in October 2024, less than three months after the assassination attempt, to hold another rally at the same site and honor Comperatore.</p><p>Trump’s raised fist and the act of mouthing the word "fight" became a lasting image of the assassination attempt that he used throughout his successful campaign to become the first president since Grover Cleveland to serve two nonconsecutive terms.</p><p>This is a developing story. Check back for updates.</p>