Donald Trump is preparing to return to the small town in Pennsylvania where an assassination attempt was made on him during a rally attended by thousands of his supporters.
The former president will be joined by JD Vance, his running mate for the November election, as well as the families of those injured in the attack on July 13, first responders, and tech billionaire Elon Musk.
Mr. Trump has insisted numerous times that he wished to revisit the site of the shooting, where one man was killed, and two others were injured before the shooter was killed.
“Butler has become quite a famous place – it’s now like a monument,” the Republican candidate remarked at a recent rally in Milwaukee.
Just six minutes into a campaign speech, while turning to look at a chart of immigration statistics, eight shots rang out.
He flinched, covering his ear and ducking down behind his podium as Secret Service agents rushed onto the open-air stage.
With blood trickling down his face and surrounded by bodyguards, Mr. Trump raised his fist and shouted “fight, fight, fight” to the crowd, creating an iconic moment for his campaign.
Donald Trump was swiftly escorted off the podium by Secret Service agents.
“The first thing I thought was, ‘How many people are dead?’ because we had such a massive crowd. It was as far as the eye could see,” Mr. Trump recounted recently.
In fact, his initial words captured by the stage microphone were “let me get my shoes,” as corroborated by witness Erin Autenreith, who was seated in the front row.
Shock reverberated across the political landscape, with President Joe Biden and other world leaders reaching out to Mr. Trump to express their well-wishes.
The shooting ignited calls from all sides to cool down the heated campaign atmosphere, but the calm was short-lived as tensions continued to simmer.
Although one of the bullets fired by Thomas Crooks from an AR-15 style rifle grazed his ear, Mr. Trump emerged otherwise unharmed.
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The Secret Service, responsible for safeguarding presidents, candidates, and dignitaries, faced criticism for failing to secure the premises from where the shots were fired, which was located just a short distance from the stage.
The assassination attempt on Mr. Trump was the first in a series of dramatic events that have shaken up the White House race, culminating in Mr. Biden’s unexpected withdrawal and the selection of Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic candidate.
Then, on September 15, a man was apprehended after being spotted at Mr. Trump’s Florida golf course brandishing a rifle and a GoPro camera, which the FBI described as a second assassination attempt.
Some of Trump’s followers have alleged outlandish conspiracy theories and, alongside Mr. Trump, claimed that Democratic rhetoric depicting the former president as a threat to US democracy effectively incited violence.
Merchandise vendors at Trump rallies wasted no time, producing T-shirts and collectibles commemorating his seemingly miraculous escape.
The gunfire in Butler resulted in the death of rallygoer Corey Comperatore, a fire chief who authorities said died while protecting family members. Two other bystanders were injured.
“We’re going to be there on Saturday. It’s going to be a really big event, and it’s going to be something special. We’ll honor the life of Corey, and I want to recognize the two gentlemen who were seriously injured,” Mr. Trump stated in Milwaukee.
