Butler Rally Victim Dies

What happened

Jim Copenhaver, one of the people shot during the July 2024 Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, has died at age 76. He died Wednesday at a Pittsburgh hospital, while the Allegheny County medical examiner’s office had not specified his cause or manner of death. The shooting began when gunman Thomas Crooks fired from a nearby rooftop at then-candidate Donald Trump, grazing Trump’s ear. Rally attendee Corey Comperatore was killed, and David Dutch survived after being shot. Copenhaver’s family and lawyer remembered him as a devoted husband, father, grandfather and veteran. He had serious arm and abdominal wounds, multiple surgeries and lasting nerve damage. The medical finding remains pending.

How each side covered it

From the left

Left-leaning accounts treated Copenhaver’s death as part of the continuing human toll from the assassination attempt, lingering more on victims than politics. MS NOW emphasized that he lived with lasting injuries after the attack before his death. MS NOW also kept Corey Comperatore in view as a victim who died protecting his family. MS NOW connected the ordeal to allegations of federal security failure.

From the right

Right-leaning accounts framed Copenhaver’s death as another loss from the Butler assassination attempt, with sharper focus on Trump and patriotic sacrifice. Just the News cited Trump describing Copenhaver as brave after being wounded while protecting his family. Just the News also cited Trump casting the gunman as trying to silence the America First movement.

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Butler Rally Victim Dies

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How each side covered it

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