Former US President Donald Trump was evacuated from the stage Saturday as he was holding a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, after an apparent attack. He had been speaking for a few minutes when small explosions, like distant gunshots, were heard. He raised his right hand to his face, as if he had been hit, fell to the ground and was covered by Secret Service agents. A Butler prosecutor told AP that a shooter was shot dead and that one rally-goer was also killed and another wounded. The attack is being investigated as an attempted murder.
The extent of the incident is unknown and no precise information has been released. Trump had only been speaking for a few minutes after the rally started with a considerable delay. Heavily armed police officers rushed the stage amid shouts from the crowd, who were also trying to protect themselves.
The former president was led off the stage with some blood on his face and a raised fist, surrounded by secret service agents but apparently in good condition, while he was cheered by his supporters, who celebrated his exit from the stage on his own two feet and without any apparent serious injuries.
His motorcade hastily left the scene, with his condition unclear. House Speaker Mike Johnson posted on X, the website formerly known as Twitter, that he was praying for Trump. A spokesman for the former president said Trump was “doing well and is undergoing a check-up at a medical facility” near the rally site.
“The Secret Service has put protective measures in place and the former president is safe,” Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement also posted on social media. “There is now an active Secret Service investigation and more information will be released when it becomes available.”
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There have been differing accounts of the alleged shooter. Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger told AP in a telephone interview that the suspected shooter was dead and that at least one rallygoer was also killed.
Thousands of people have been evacuated from the area where the rally was taking place. Security forces have cordoned off the area, which they have described as a “crime scene”, and have also evacuated the journalists who were present.
Security for former presidents is the responsibility of the Secret Service. Trump has a large bodyguard assigned to him everywhere. His rallies are held under tight security measures, with exhaustive searches at the entrance. It is not clear whether the shots, if they were fired, came from inside or outside the open-air rally grounds.
The rally is the last one the former president has given before the Republican convention that meets next week in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to certify his candidacy for the presidency by the Republican Party. Trump is still expected to announce who will be his vice presidential candidate, as he has delayed the announcement until the last minute. In some fundraising messages to his supporters he suggested that he could announce it at this Saturday’s rally in Pennsylvania, but he sent similar messages a few days ago implying that he could announce it at another rally in Doral, Florida, and finally he did not do so. None of the favorites for the nomination were present at the rally today.

As he left church in Rehoboth Beach, where he is spending the weekend, President Joe Biden simply replied: “No,” when asked if he had been briefed on the incident. Shortly afterward, the White House issued a brief statement: “The President has received an initial briefing on the incident at former President Trump’s rally,” it said, without providing further details.
Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., posted a photo on social media of his father, fist raised and bloodied face in front of an American flag, with the words: “He will never stop fighting to save America.”
The impact of this apparent attack on the presidential campaign is uncertain. Trump is a divisive figure who has contributed like few others to the polarization of American politics. The former president considers those convicted of the violent assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, to be “hostages.” Now he is the one who has become the victim of political violence.

Democrats have come out in force to condemn what happened. “I am horrified by what happened at the Trump rally in Pennsylvania and relieved that former President Trump is safe. Political violence has no place in our country,” said Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader in the Senate. Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the leader in the House of Representatives, said: “My thoughts and prayers are with former President Trump. I am grateful for the decisive response of law enforcement. America is a democracy. Political violence of any kind is never acceptable.”
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, tweeted that he had been briefed on the situation and that Pennsylvania State Police were on hand at the scene. “Violence directed at any political party or political leader is absolutely unacceptable. It has no place in Pennsylvania or the United States,” he wrote. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who was the target of a kidnapping plot, chimed in: “There is no place for political violence in this country, period. This is not how we resolve our differences,” she tweeted.
“In any case, we condemn what happened to former President Donald Trump. The violence is irrational and inhumane,” tweeted Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
Tesla boss and SpaceX founder Elon Musk tweeted a video of the incident. “I fully support President Trump and hope for his speedy recovery,” he wrote on his social network.
Someone appears to have shot a gun at Donald Trump. Unclear whether he was actually hit. Someone yells “shooter down.” pic.twitter.com/80zfDL2Rqv
— Sawyer Hackett (@SawyerHackett) July 13, 2024
[Noticia de última hora. Habrá ampliación en breve]
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