Jim Copenhaver, who was shot twice during the July 13, 2024, assassination attempt on President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, died Wednesday at West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh. He was 76.
The Allegheny County medical examiner confirmed the death. Copenhaver’s family, through attorney Joseph Feldman, said he died surrounded by loved ones. A cause of death has not been publicly disclosed, but Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday said Copenhaver died “from complications stemming from those wounds.”
Copenhaver was struck twice when Thomas Crooks opened fire from a rooftop overlooking the campaign rally, hitting him in the tricep and in the abdomen. He underwent multiple surgeries and carried bullet fragments in his body for the rest of his life.
“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 later said publicly that security failures at the rally site were to blame for what happened.
“I’m sure there was negligence. It wouldn’t have happened, had it been secure.”
He and his wife, Marianne, sued the federal government in June over those failures, describing his injuries as “debilitating, grievous, permanent and life-altering.”
President Trump responded to the news Thursday night, calling Copenhaver a “true American Patriot” whose death was a “tremendous loss.”
“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 was one of several people struck during the attack. Corey Comperatore, a retired volunteer fire chief, was killed while shielding his wife and daughters. David Dutch was critically wounded. Trump himself was struck in the ear before Secret Service agents pulled him from the stage.
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