President Donald Trump weighed in Thursday night on the death of Jim Copenhaver, the 76-year-old supporter shot twice during the 2024 assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, who died more than two years after the shooting that left him with permanent injuries.
Trump called him a "true American Patriot" and his death a "tremendous loss." Copenhaver survived the bullets that tore into him at Butler, but the damage never fully left him. Bullet fragments remained inside his body until the end, and he and his wife had sued the federal government over the security failures that made it all possible.
The president wrote:
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 24, 2026
"Jim Copenhaver, a true American Patriot, has passed away — A tremendous loss! More than two years ago in Butler, Pennsylvania, a crazed gunman attempted to stifle our America First Movement. Instead, Jim and so many other wonderful Patriots who love our Country, stood united in defense of our shared values of Freedom, Liberty, and Justice.
After being wounded while protecting his family, Jim showed tremendous bravery, courageously continuing to FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT, and maintaining a positive spirit despite unimaginable hardships."
Trump said Copenhaver's “indelible legacy of love and devotion will forever endure” and offered prayers for the Copenhaver family, singling out his wife, Marianne.
Copenhaver's death was first announced earlier Thursday. He died Wednesday at West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh, according to the Allegheny County medical examiner. His family said through attorney Joseph Feldman that he passed away surrounded by loved ones. A cause of death has not been disclosed, and while the family's statement did not say whether his death was directly connected to the injuries he suffered in Butler, Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday has said that Copenhaver passed away "from complications stemming from those wounds."
As RedState reported earlier Thursday, Copenhaver was hit twice on July 13, 2024, when Thomas Crooks fired from a rooftop overlooking Trump's campaign rally. One bullet struck Copenhaver in the tricep. Another hit him in the abdomen. He underwent multiple surgeries and was left with bullet fragments still inside his body.
Copenhaver later described the moment he realized what had happened:
“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.”
Copenhaver survived. Later, when he spoke publicly about Butler, he put the blame squarely on the security failures that left the rooftop open to Crooks.
“I’m sure there was negligence. It wouldn’t have happened, had it been secure.”
Those failures eventually landed in court. Copenhaver and his wife sued the federal government in June, describing injuries from the shooting as “debilitating, grievous, permanent and life-altering.”
Copenhaver wasn't the only one who paid a price that day. Corey Comperatore, a retired volunteer fire chief, was killed shielding his wife and daughters. David Dutch was critically wounded. Trump was struck in the ear before Secret Service agents rushed him from the stage.
Trump closed his tribute to Copenhaver with three words immediately recognizable from Butler:
“FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT.”
This time, they were for Jim Copenhaver.
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