WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- James Copenhaver died after suffering complications from injuries sustained during the 2024 assassination attempt against President Donald Trump.
- Copenhaver endured multiple surgeries, persistent pain and permanent injuries, including bullet fragments that remained lodged in his body.
- Corey Comperatore was killed in the Butler shooting, while Copenhaver and David Dutch were wounded.
- A bipartisan House task force concluded the attack was preventable and identified failures in planning, execution and leadership.
James Copenhaver, a Pennsylvania man wounded during the failed 2024 assassination attempt against President Donald Trump, has died after suffering complications from his injuries, according to several reports.
Copenhaver, who was in his mid-70s, was from Coraopolis.
Copenhaver was shot at the Butler Farm Show complex outside Butler, Pennsylvania, where Trump was speaking as a presidential candidate.
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Thomas Matthew Crooks climbed onto the roof of a nearby glass manufacturing building and opened fire toward the rally stage.
A person who answered a telephone number associated with Copenhaver’s family directed Fox News Digital to a Pittsburgh area law firm for confirmation and additional comment.
The House Republican Conference later posted an obituary on social media and said Copenhaver had died Thursday.
The conference said lawmakers were “deeply saddened” by his death. Its statement honored the strength Copenhaver showed while living with the consequences of the shooting.
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“Jim endured unimaginable hardship with strength and perseverance. We join his family and loved ones in mourning his loss and praying for them during this difficult time. May he rest in peace,” the caucus said in a statement.
Journalist Ken Silva, who wrote a book about the assassination attempt, also reported Copenhaver’s death on his website.
Silva said a person close to Copenhaver’s family confirmed the news and said Copenhaver had been dealing with permanent injuries, including bullet fragments that remained lodged in his body.
Two other rally attendees were struck by gunfire that day. David Dutch was wounded and survived, while Butler County firefighter Corey Comperatore was shot and killed in the bleachers behind Trump’s dais.
Copenhaver described the attack during a 2025 interview with Pittsburgh station KDKA. He said he stood up to look at the jumbotron behind him while Trump was speaking.
“Next thing I know, my sleeve has been yanked,” he said. “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.”
Copenhaver said he was struck a second time, although both bullets “went into soft material.” He recalled the physical impact and his immediate reaction after being hit.
“It was like a jolt. It didn’t knock me over, but I didn’t want to stand anymore,” he told the station.
A lawsuit Copenhaver filed against the United States earlier this year alleged that he was required to undergo multiple surgeries.
Slippery Rock Mayor Jondavid Longo, who spoke at the Butler rally, mourned Copenhaver’s reported death Thursday.
I’ve got very sad news: Jim Copenhaver, who was shot at the Butler Trump rally on July 13, 2024, has died.
I don’t have many details at this point, but it’s no secret that Jim was dealing with permanent injuries from Butler—including having bullet fragments still inside of him.… pic.twitter.com/37nRhQfcla
— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) September 24, 2026
“[Copenhaver] survived that day, but he never fully recovered from the wounds. For two years he lived with surgeries, remaining fragments, and pain that never left him. Those of us who were there that day have never forgotten Corey Comperatore, David Dutch, or Jim,” Longo said in a statement on X.
Longo added, “Butler County still carries that afternoon. May he rest in peace. Prayers for Marianne and the Copenhaver family.”
The shooting brought intense scrutiny upon the Secret Service after investigations found breakdowns involving planning, communication, and security around the rally grounds.
Then Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned less than two weeks after the attack and took responsibility for the security lapse.
A subsequent bipartisan House task force concluded that the Butler attack was preventable.
The panel identified failures involving planning, execution, and leadership, adding to the scrutiny surrounding the security operation.
Florida Republican Rep. Carlos Gimenez, a member of that task force, climbed onto the roof Crooks used to fire at Trump.
Gimenez later told Fox News Digital he was incredulous about how easily the roof could be scaled after Cheatle had cited its slope while explaining why it was not secured.
Six Secret Service agents were later suspended without pay in connection with the security failures.
Trump returned to Butler in October 2024, less than three months after the assassination attempt, for another rally at the same location and to honor Comperatore.
Trump’s raised fist and his mouthing of the word “fight” became an enduring image from the assassination attempt.
He used the image throughout his successful campaign to become the first president since Grover Cleveland to serve two nonconsecutive terms.
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