One fact that has often gone largely unnoticed is that on July 13, 2024, would-be Trump assassin Thomas Crooks shot four people. We all know about the bullet that hit President Donald Trump’s ear and barely missed killing him. And many are aware that Butler County native Corey Comperatore, a volunteer fireman, was killed. But little is ever mentioned of the other two shooting victims, who were lucky to survive but not as fortunate as Trump. Their injuries were more serious.
Both David Dutch and James Copenhaver were critically injured by Crooks before a Secret Service sniper took him out.
It now looks like you may be hearing more from them and more about them. The two have filed separate lawsuits against the feds for their bungling of security around that Trump rally. I'm still not sure "bungled" is the right word, however.
In their lawsuits, Dutch and Copenhaver allege that their shootings were the result of negligence on the part of the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
To recap, Donald Trump was only 10 minutes into his rally speech at the Butler Farm Show grounds in Butler County, Pa., when Crooks got off multiple shots at Trump before he was killed by a sniper on another rooftop.
Barely a minute or two later, the now iconic photo of a bloodied Trump was taken as he defiantly rose to his feet, surrounded by Secret Service agents, fist in the air. As he was ushered to his vehicle and whisked away to a local hospital, the carnage Crooks left started to emerge.
How Secret Service failed again and again to stop Trump assassination attempt: From calling tech support for drone to missing chance to warn ex-prez https://t.co/HS3fBzCiQS pic.twitter.com/0gYg7XZQtb
— New York Post (@nypost) September 25, 2024
The body of Comperatore was now lifeless after he used it to shield his wife and two daughters, who survived. Copenhaver and Dutch were both down with serious injuries. People scrambled to get paramedics and to clear a path to get them the emergency care they needed.
Dutch, who was 57, was hit in the abdomen and chest area, causing liver damage, broken ribs, and leaving bullet fragments in his liver. Doctors induced a coma, which was temporary. After that, Dutch underwent several surgeries and then a long rehabilitation process.
Copenhaver, who was 74 at the time, was hit by two of Crooks’ bullets. He was wounded in his triceps/arm and in his abdomen and colon. The after-effects of his trauma have included significant weight loss, pain, and mobility limitations.
And yet there are some who still maintain that the Trump assassination attempt was staged. Tell that to Copenhaver and Dutch.
Before the ambulances were even loaded, one question dominated everyone’s mind: How could the feds have let this happen? That same question is at the center of these two new lawsuits, which state that both the Secret Service and DHS “utterly failed.” They claim that the assassination attempt by Crooks was “entirely preventable” and was the result of a series of inexcusable failures by the feds, starting with allowing Crooks to get himself onto a nearby rooftop with a gun and scope before the rally.
But it’s more than that. In their lawsuits, Copenhaver and Dutch point to Crooks’ presence on site well in advance of the rally, acting strangely.
The legal filings allege that the Secret Service erred by not securing all of the nearby rooftops with line of sight, including the one where Crooks had stationed himself. They also detail problems with poor radio and electronic communication between the Secret Service and various local, state, and federal law enforcement and agencies.
You may remember that the Secret Service chief at the time, Kimberly Cheatle, said the roofs of those buildings were too steep to position counter-snipers.
Rep. Pat Fallon (R-TX) totally debunks Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle’s “sloped roof” excuse for not securing the rooftop where President Trump's would-be assassin shot from and then closes by telling her to "Go Back to Guarding Doritos!" pic.twitter.com/ScUALJ7WEn
— Denn Dunham (@DennD68) July 22, 2024
After the rally and an investigation, the Secret Service admitted "breakdowns in communication, technological issues and human failure" and, according to the report, a "cascade of preventable failures." These new lawsuits mention all of this.
In one of the complaints, it states that "the defendant United States of America is jointly and severally liable for Plaintiffs' injuries with no negligence whatsoever."
Further, it alleges that if the feds had followed standing policies and procedures, the assassination attempt never would have taken place.
The complaint says that no one could account for who was responsible for securing the building from where Crooks shot eight times at Trump. It points out that the communication problems started days before the rally when various law enforcement agencies experienced communication breakdowns with the feds and each other. This is an indictment of the agencies involved and the entire planning process. In the legal filings, it states that the Secret Service didn’t appropriately assign security responsibilities, communicate those responsibilities, and did not create and institute an “appropriate” Site Security Plan.
Wireless communications failed the day of the rally. Even a fed drone wasn’t working. Had it been operative, it could have detected the drone Crooks used to plan his own attacks.
Trump assassination attempt: Inexperienced Secret Service agent flying drone called toll-free number for help https://t.co/AKY4LsVMEm
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 25, 2024
It’s been reported that Crooks may have flown his own drone for at least 12 minutes, which would have provided a better view of the stage, the podium, and the setting where Trump was scheduled to speak.
One of the legal filings does go on to say that, “At no time whatsoever was the information regarding the Shooter communicated by the USSS to President Trump's Security Detail.” All of this after Crooks was spotted on site before the rally with a rangefinder, the suit alleges.
Disturbingly, in the minutes just prior to the shooting, Crooks was spotted moving on the rooftop where no one was stationed to monitor.
Both lawsuits seek damages that total roughly $150,000.
If anything good can come from this, if it makes it into the courtroom, it will be to expose some of the people involved, and hopefully get a better idea of whether willful negligence was involved, and perhaps name some names.
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