James Copenhaver, one of two spectators critically wounded when a gunman opened fire at President Trump's July 2024 campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, has died at 76 — two years after the attack — from complications tied to his injuries.
Why it matters: Copenhaver's death marks a second fatality now tied to the Butler rally shooting, reviving scrutiny of the Secret Service security failures that let the gunman reach a rooftop within range of the stage.
Driving the news:
Copenhaver was shot twice — through the tricep and in the abdomen — when Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire from a nearby rooftop on July 13, 2024, an attack that also killed volunteer firefighter Corey Comperatore and critically wounded another rallygoer, per Fox News.
He underwent multiple surgeries and lived with permanent injuries, including bullet fragments that remained lodged in his body, according to RedState.
House Republicans released a statement mourning his passing and praising his “strength and perseverance” throughout his recovery.
Conservative commentator Laura Ingraham offered condolences on social media following news of his death.
By the numbers:
76: Copenhaver's age at death.
2: gunshot wounds he sustained at the rally.
2 years: time between the shooting and his death.
What they're saying: Copenhaver previously described the moment he was shot: “I turned around to my friend, and I said, ‘I think I was shot,’ and that's when I got the second one and then I went down.” On the security lapse that allowed the shooting: “I'm sure there was negligence. It wouldn't have happened, had it been secure.”
The bottom line: Copenhaver's death formalizes what many already felt — the political violence of July 2024 has now claimed a second life, and the Secret Service failures that enabled it remain a live accountability question more than two years later.
Go deeper: