Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents as he is helped off the stage at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa., Saturday, July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Two men shot at the same campaign rally where a man tried to take President Donald Trump's life are suing the U.S. government.
In substantially similar lawsuits filed the same day in the Western District of Pennsylvania, James Copenhaver and David Dutch are alleging they were "shot and severely and grievously wounded" due to the "negligence, recklessness and/or carelessness" of the U.S. Secret Service and/or the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The shooting occurred on July 13, 2024, on the grounds of the Butler Farm Show in the Pennsylvania town of the same name.
After the would-be assassin, Thomas Crooks, fired several shots — one of which grazed Trump's right ear — Crooks was shot and killed by a sniper. In the violence and confusion, Corey Comperatore, a firefighter, was killed while using his body to shield his family. Two other men, the litigants, were wounded and hospitalized with severe gunshot injuries.
The lawsuits allege various federal agents, employees, and vendors "utterly failed to provide required, proper, appropriate, timely and/or necessary security" and similar services or otherwise failed "to fulfill their responsibilities" at and in advance of the campaign rally "which failures proximately caused, in whole or in part, the shooting."
The lawsuits allege the assassination attempt on Trump's life was "entirely preventable" and caused by the Secret Service's "failures" in the days and hours leading up to the shooting.
"The defendant United States of America, by and through the [Secret Service], committed egregious failures and failed to abide by and adhere to various protocols, policies and procedures which directly and proximately caused the shooting and/or allowed it to occur," the lawsuits read.
Each filing contains a lengthy list of such claimed failures that document no fewer than 51 total allegations against the agency.
The lawsuits go on to say the Secret Service failed to "secure the roof of a building and mitigate the line of sight threat posed by the building and those who might occupy or mount it."
The plaintiffs also say the Secret Service and others failed to properly disseminate "critical security information" that would have allowed them to "locate and question the would be assassin." Adding to the claimed communication breakdown, the Secret Service or others knew Crooks "was acting erratically, had used a range finder, and was the subject of a search in the hours leading up to the shooting." Had those issues been dealt with properly, Trump's security detail would have been alerted "more than two hours prior to the shooting."
But there's no need to take the plaintiffs' word for it, the lawsuits add. The failures of that day have been admitted by the agency.
From the filings, at length:
Indeed, the [Secret Service] has itself acknowledged that its failures included "breakdowns in communication, technological issues, and human failure" all of which contributed to the shooting, and that its conduct constituted "an operational failure that the Secret Service will carry as a reminder of the critical importance of its zero-fail mission and the need for continuous improvement." Further, numerous agents were held accountable for their acts and omissions, including suspension without pay, and those individuals were placed on restricted duty and/or moved into non-operational positions.
"Had the [Secret Service] followed mandatory policies and procedures the shooting would not have occurred, thereby saving Plaintiffs from a life altering tragedy which has resulted in significant, grievous and permanent personal and other injuries," the lawsuits go on.
The filings largely differ in their detailed descriptions of each plaintiff's wounds and subsequent health maladies.
Each injury section spans multiple pages and includes a number of highly specific medical terms. In short, Copenhaver's lawsuit focuses on wounds to his abdomen and left arm while Dutch's lawsuit seems to focus on wounds to his liver and ribs on his right side.
Due to the varying medical injury-and-procedure lists, Copenhaver's filing is 35 pages long; Dutch's filing is 36 pages long.
Each plaintiff is joined in the lawsuits by their wives — who have filed their own negligence count based on theories of loss of consortium, companionship, marital fellowship, and similar claims.
The lawsuits seek $150,000 in damages, interest, and attorneys fees.
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