One of the shooting victims from the July 13 assassination attempt against former President Trump spoke out about the “unnecessary” tragedy that left him fighting for his life.
James Copenhaver spoke through his attorney, Joseph Feldman, to say how “sad” he felt about the “political division” in the nation after the 74-year-old was left hospitalized as he recovered from wounds to his arm and abdomen after shooter Thomas Crooks opened fire at the Butler, Pennsylvania rally.
“Overall, he just wants people to understand how unnecessary it was and that the political divide in this country has become so great [that] people are literally willing to attend rallies where people are exercising their First Amendment rights and start firing bullets into crowds,” Feldman told Fox News Digital in an interview on Wednesday.
(Video Credit: Fox News)
“He’s 74 years old. He’s been around a long time. He’s witnessed a lot take place in this country. And this is definitely one of the worst things that he’s experienced as an American, and he wants people to understand that it does not have to be like this,” the attorney continued.
Copenhaver has a “long road ahead” to recovery, Feldman expressed, adding that the Trump supporter extended his thanks to law enforcement, and emergency and medical teams who helped him after he was injured.
He “is unafraid to voice his support for Trump, and he will not allow those who disagree with his views to silence him or prevent him from exercising his rights,” Feldman stressed.
The retiree, who celebrated his 51st anniversary with his wife from the hospital, had been to the left of Trump during the rally. The video he took from the event moments before shots were fired shows the gunman on top of the roof of the nearby building he had scaled. Copenhaver, like Trump and other rallygoers, had turned their heads to look at a chart the former president was displaying when Crooks fired.
Copenhaver looked down at his arm to see blood before the chaos erupted around him.
“He had almost heard or even seen something kind of whizz past them, which we’re assuming is a bullet. And he … looked down at his arm and … felt pain initially, but he didn’t even realize that he had been shot a second time at that point,” Feldman recounted. “He had mentioned that he was in quite a bit of shock at that time. There was a lot of pandemonium. People were screaming. No one really quite knew what was going on right away.”
A bullet grazed Trump’s ear and David Dutch, 57, was also critically wounded that day. Sadly, 50-year-old former fire chief Corey Comperatore died as he protected his family from the gunfire. Copenhaver received a call from Trump while he was recovering in the hospital.
“It was a very pleasant conversation. He had mentioned it was almost like [Trump] was there in the room with him,” Feldman said. “He was like talking to a friend … just someone who’s able to keep a conversation going. So, a very fluid conversation. He really enjoyed the phone call overall, and we’re hoping that, at some point, he could share another phone call or maybe even a visit in person.”
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida. Powers also contributes to BizPac Review.
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