Jim Copenhaver, one of two rally-goers shot during the July 2024 assassination attempt on President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, has died more than two years later from complications tied to his wounds.
Copenhaver, 76, of Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, passed away on September 23, 2026, surrounded by family, according to a statement his family provided to Fox News Digital. He never fully recovered from two gunshot wounds sustained when Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire at the Butler Farm Show complex on July 13, 2024, the same attack that grazed President Trump's ear and killed fellow rally attendee Corey Comperatore.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday confirmed that Copenhaver died "from complications stemming from those wounds." For more than two years, Copenhaver lived with bullet fragments still lodged in his body, permanent nerve damage, and the toll of multiple surgeries. His death makes him the second person killed as a direct result of the Butler shooting.
Copenhaver was seated behind Trump on stage when Crooks began firing. In an interview with KDKA-TV roughly a year after the attack, Copenhaver described the moment he was hit:
"I was standing up looking at the Jumbotron behind me, and next thing I know my sleeve has been yanked. 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. But I turned around, and that's when I got the second shot."
One round struck his triceps. The second tore through chunks of his colon and lodged deep in his body. He was hospitalized and discharged roughly a week later, but the damage was far from over. Surgeries followed. Bullet fragments remained. The nerve damage was permanent.
Ken Silva, editor of Headline USA, who first reported Copenhaver's death on X, noted that Copenhaver had been dealing with permanent injuries from Butler since the shooting. "It was no secret that Jim was dealing with permanent injuries from Butler," Silva wrote.
The July 13, 2024 attack also wounded David Dutch of New Kensington, Pennsylvania, who survived. Comperatore, a former fire chief, was killed shielding his family. Trump himself was struck in the ear. The security failures surrounding that day have remained a sore point, with the president himself demanding accountability over the FBI's handling of the Butler assassination attempt as new details emerged in subsequent months.
Copenhaver's family released a statement through their lawyer describing him as a husband, father, grandfather, and veteran who never wavered in his love of country:
"James's dedication to this great country was a defining part of his life. As a veteran, he proudly served our nation in the armed forces, and his love of country never wavered. James was a true American patriot who believed deeply in the freedoms and ideals upon which this nation was founded, and he embodied the very best traits of our great nation."
President Trump honored Copenhaver on Truth Social, calling him "a true American Patriot" and describing his death as "a tremendous loss." Trump praised Copenhaver's resilience in the two years after the shooting:
"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. His indelible legacy of love and devotion will forever endure."
The Butler rally attack was one of several episodes of political violence that have shaped the security landscape around Trump and his allies. The threat environment has extended even to the president's own family, with Barron Trump retreating from public life amid Iranian threats and a broader pattern of politically motivated danger.
House Republicans announced Copenhaver's death on social media the day after he passed. The House GOP account posted a statement mourning the loss:
"We are deeply saddened by the passing of Jim Copenhaver, who was gravely wounded in the horrific shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania. 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."
Mayor Jondavid Longo of Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania, also offered condolences. "Butler County still carries that afternoon," Longo said. "May he rest in peace. Prayers for Marianne and the Copenhaver family."
The aftermath of the Butler shooting has continued to create questions and legal action. The family of another victim filed suit against the venue, and federal records later revealed that an anonymous donor quietly paid to cremate the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, adding another unsettling footnote to a day that left lasting scars on a small Pennsylvania community.
No information has emerged publicly about whether Copenhaver's death has been formally classified as a homicide by any official authority, or whether it will trigger further legal proceedings. The branch and era of his military service also remain unspecified in public statements.
What is clear is the cost. A 76-year-old veteran went to a political rally, took two bullets, spent two years in and out of surgery with fragments still inside him, and never came out the other side. The questions about how a gunman reached that rooftop in Butler, Pennsylvania remain as pressing as ever.
Jim Copenhaver survived the shooting. He did not survive the wounds. The people responsible for letting it happen owe his family, and the country, more than condolences.