One of the two men wounded during the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump at his Butler, Pennsylvania rally has died, deepening the tragedy surrounding the July 13, 2024 attack.
The death of 76-year-old Jim Copenhaver was disclosed Thursday, though no further public details about the circumstances of his passing have been released. According to The Post Millennial, a source close to the family confirmed Copenhavers death to reporter Ken Silva of Headline USA, underscoring the lingering human cost of the security failures that day.
Copenhaver and fellow attendee David Dutch were both shot and injured when a gunman opened fire at the Trump campaign event, an attack that also claimed the life of firefighter and family man Corey Comperatore. President Trump himself was grazed by a bullet, while the would-be assassin, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was shot and killed by authorities at the scene.
In June, Copenhaver and his wife filed a negligence lawsuit against the federal government, laying out the severe and lasting impact of his injuries. The complaint stated that Copenhaver suffered grievous, serious, permanent and debilitating personal and other injuries as a direct result of the shooting.
The suit detailed how Copenhaver required extensive surgeries in the ICU, endured massive blood loss, sustained a kidney injury and an embolism, and was left with bullet fragments lodged in his body. It further alleged that he would need additional surgeries and ongoing medical care, highlighting the long-term consequences of the attack on an ordinary citizen who simply chose to attend a political rally.
Speaking to local media about a year after the shooting, Copenhaver described the moment he was struck. I was standing up looking at the Jumbotron behind me, and next thing I know my sleeve has been yanked. 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. But I turned around, and that's when I got the second shot. So, the second shot didn't hit bone. Mine went into all soft material. It was like a jolt. I didn't knock me over, but I didn't want to stand anymore.
He explained that he came to rely on a cane to walk, with one bullet tearing through his tricep and another, which remained embedded, destroying part of his colon and causing lasting nerve damage. "Unfortunately, it's lodged right next to my spine and hit a nerve," he said. "And so my leg was unsteady, but I grabbed hold of the railing and I went down with my body that way, and I laid on the bleachers."
Copenhavers death now raises further questions about accountability for the breakdowns that allowed a gunman to target a presidential candidate and his supporters in broad daylight. For many conservatives, his case stands as a stark reminder that when government fails in its most basic duty to protect public safety, it is law-abiding citizensnot bureaucratswho bear the ultimate cost.
Login