James 'Jim' Copenhaver, 76, died on Wednesday under unknown circumstances after surviving the terrifying rally that saw Trump shot in the ear on July 13, 2024
Posted on 09/24/2026 10:44:09 AM PDT by Responsibility2nd
A Pennsylvania man who survived gunshot wounds during President Trump's Butler campaign rally two years ago has died, sources confirmed.
James 'Jim' Copenhaver, 76, died on Wednesday after surviving the terrifying rally that saw Trump shot in the ear on July 13, 2024.
Copenhaver endured permanent 'life-altering' injuries after he was shot twice at the infamous rally; once in his left arm and again in his abdomen.
The native of Moon Township, around 20 minutes from Pittsburgh, was in critical condition at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh before he was left numb from his knee to his hip.
Joseph Feldman, the family's attorney, told Fox News at the time that Copenhaver was 'a tough guy' after he was able to survive the horrific injuries.
Ken Silva of Headline USA first reported the death, citing sources close to the family of Copenhaver, who wrote the foreword for the journalist's book, The Trump Assassination Plots: What Investigations Missed and Why it Matters.
Silva said he had few details surrounding Copenhaver's sudden passing, 'but it was no secret that Jim was dealing with permanent injuries from Butler - including having bullet fragments still inside of him.'
In the foreword, shared by Silva on social media, Copenhaver wrote: 'I've lived a good life, but most of it has been what I'd described as "uneventful" in a grand historical sense.'
The House of Republicans said they were 'deeply saddened' by Copenhaver's death after he was 'gravely wounded' in the Butler shooting.
'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 agency said.
Copenhaver recalled raising his family, working for over 30 years and his time playing in a band and asked how he would be remembered in the foreword he penned.
'Well, I got my answer... though taking a bullet meant for the President wasn't exactly what I had in mind,' he said.
Copenhaver recalled his day at the rally leading up to 'when I almost met my maker,' and said a friend had got him the tickets.
After working their way through parking and security, the time arrived to claim their seats before a staff member told them they didn't have the right wristbands to be situated directly in front of the podium.
'I asked if we could move to the bleachers; he said yes,' Copenhaver recalled. 'Our move turned out to be nearly fatal.'
He continued to remember how David Dutch, the other man, a stranger to Copenhaver, who survived bullet wounds that day, was just two seats away from him.
'We felt pretty good about where we were seated,' he continued.
'I started taking pictures and filming about 6.03pm, unknowingly capturing the shooter on the roof of the AGR building at around 6.08pm.'
Copenhaver wrote that, as Trump's speech 'ramped up,' he put his phone away before 'seemingly out of nowhere' he was shot in his left triceps.
'I turned to Randy and said, "I think I have been shot," when I was then hit a second time in my left abdomen,' he wrote.
Copenhaver said he remembered little else from that day, but his long road to recovery stood before him.
'I only just started physical therapy in the summer of 2025, and while I've been making progress, it hasn't been easy,' he wrote.
'With a bullet lodged next to my spine, I'm going to have a diminished usage of my left leg for the rest of my life. It's numb from just beneath the kneecap to the hip area. It just doesn't feel like my leg.
'I guess that's the price of making history.'
Copenhaver sued the US Government in June after he was forced to undergo a series of surgeries, including the closure of a traumatic abdominal wall hernia, laparotomy, laceration repair and transection of his colon, Silva reported.
Upon his death, he continued to have fragments of the bullets in his body, according to Silva.
Copenhaver's wife, Marianne, will continue on with the suit, along with Dutch and his wife, seeking damages over the Secret Service's alleged security failures.
According to Politico, the Senate Homeland Security and the House's bipartisan task force found significant failures in the Secret Service's plan to secure the rally as well as their response to the shooting.
Thomas Matthew Crooks was named as the attempted assassin.
On the anniversary of the incident, Trump said that the Secret Service 'had a bad day' and 'made a mistake.'
He pointed to a lack of communication with local police as well as the failure to appoint an agent on the roof that Crooks fired from, Politico reported.
The Daily Mail reached out to Copenhaver's family, who said they weren't taking calls at this time, the White House and the Alleghany County Medical Examiner's Office for comment.
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James 'Jim' Copenhaver, 76, died on Wednesday under unknown circumstances after surviving the terrifying rally that saw Trump shot in the ear on July 13, 2024
How sad. Thanks for posting this. RIP, Jim.
Amazing that the left hasn’t told us anything about Thomas they/them Crooks.
There’s a good chance the poor guy received vaxxed blood in the ER.
Wait, I thought this shooting was a hoax?
Damn just horrible, horrible..RIP
It would be great if DJT were to attend his funeral. Or,at the very least,for him to invite the family to the WH.
RIP
It wouldn’t surprise me at all if that were to happen.
Rest in Peace.
RIP Jim.
Peace to your family and friends. God be with them.
This is so sad.
What are you thinking? You discount the nerve damage from a bullet lodged next to his spine and suspect some mysterious mRNA vaccine spike protein that killed a 76 year old man.
I may not ever get a flu shot again or any other vaccine created with mRNA delivery, but I am old with several conditions that lessen life expectancy.
All deaths in the 21st century are not caused by mRNA vaccines, so please try to give it a rest.
Nope. No hoax. As a matter of fact, the shrapnel from one of the shots injured Trump's ear (think Christopher Wray).
The concerns raised in that paper have yet to be satisfactorily addressed.
I was being facetious, using the left’s talking points.
I'm not discounting anything.
I simply happen to know that the country's blood supply is contaminated with this mRNA crap, and that unjabbed people have died of blood clots after getting a blood transfusion.
Read my sentence that you quoted in your reply; I didn't say he died from a blood transfusion, only that there's a good chance the guy got bad blood in the ER.
In the 21st century most deaths are not caused by mRNA vaccines
I also stated that I may not ever get a flu shot again or any other vaccine created with mRNA deliver.
I never got Covid-19 even when I only used a mask for a couple of week here in Georgia except for my doctor visits. My wife and I got the first two mRNA vaccines but we didn't get sucked into believing in the boosters.
When I enlisted in the USAF in 1975 I had to get a flu shot every season. Then almost every year after that I got "la vaccination de la saison" for protection against the Avian flu, Hong Kong flu, Swine flu, Russian flu and others I don't remember. I believe that I had adaptive immunity to the Covid-19 from all of those inoculation year-after-year.
After all that, I believe the problem with mRNA vaccines is that they had to be transported frozen with critical guidelines for usage. Because of that, inapt, careless or even intentionally bad handling caused them to be time bombs to kill people.
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