Two Trump supporters gravely wounded in the Butler assassination attempt are now dragging the federal government into court, arguing that a cascade of Secret Service failures turned a patriotic rally into a killing field.
Story Snapshot
- Two Pennsylvania men shot at the 2024 Butler Trump rally are suing the United States for alleged Secret Service negligence.
- The lawsuits claim the rally shooting was “entirely preventable” and detail a “cascade of preventable failures” in security planning.[1][3]
- Key allegations include an unsecured rooftop, poor command structure, and ignored warnings about the killer’s suspicious behavior.[1][3]
- Congressional investigations have already documented major Secret Service lapses at the event, adding weight to the plaintiffs’ case.[1][3][4]
Wounded Trump Supporters Take Aim at Federal Failures
James Copenhaver and David Dutch, two lifelong Pennsylvanians who went to Butler to support Donald Trump in July 2024, are now suing the federal government, saying the United States Secret Service’s negligence nearly cost them their lives.[1][3][4] Filed in the Western District of Pennsylvania, their complaints argue that the assassination attempt on President Trump was “entirely preventable” and that a series of security breakdowns directly led to their gunshot wounds and lasting physical and emotional injuries.[1][3]
According to the filings, both families say the federal government, acting through the Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security, failed its basic duty to protect the president and the public.[1][3] Dutch was shot in the stomach, while Copenhaver was hit twice, and both now face what their attorneys describe as “life altering physical and emotional injuries” along with future surgeries and long-term medical care.[3] Each family is seeking at least $150,000 in damages plus costs, a modest number given the stakes but symbolically powerful.[1][3][4]
The Unsecured Roof and Missed Warnings About the Shooter
The lawsuits zero in on one glaring issue that will infuriate many readers: the AGR Complex roof, the very perch the would-be assassin, Thomas Crooks, used to fire on the crowd and the president.[1][3] Plaintiffs say that roof was repeatedly flagged as a vulnerability before the rally, yet no agents were stationed there and no effective measures were taken to secure it.[1][3][4] Congressional investigators later confirmed that the failure to post an agent on that rooftop was a critical lapse in the security plan.[1][4]
The complaints further allege that Crooks was spotted acting suspiciously for hours before the attack, reportedly using a range finder and behaving erratically near the site.[1][3] Local law enforcement circulated an alert with his photo, but the lawsuits say Secret Service policies kept that information from being widely shared with agents on the ground.[3] Plaintiffs argue that if warnings had been properly disseminated and drones or similar technology deployed, Crooks could have been located on the roof more than two hours before the shooting and stopped in time.[3]
“Cascade of Preventable Failures” and a Broken Command Structure
Beyond the roof and missed warnings, the men’s attorneys describe a deeper institutional breakdown that will sound familiar to conservatives tired of bureaucratic incompetence.[1][3] The suits argue that the Secret Service chose to operate multiple fragmented command centers instead of a single coordinated post, undermining situational awareness at a moment when seconds mattered.[1] Agents allegedly relied on cellphones between trailers rather than unified radio channels, a choice that “severely impeded” real-time sharing of safety information across the operation.[1]
Those accusations are not made in a vacuum. Congressional reviews, including work by the Senate Homeland Security panel and a bipartisan House task force, have already found “significant failures” in the Secret Service’s security plan and its response to the threat from Crooks.[1][4] One official account described a “cascade of preventable failures,” language the lawsuits now quote to reinforce their case that the system did not merely experience bad luck—it broke down at multiple predictable points.[1][3][4] That pattern of failure has raised serious questions about how a supposedly “zero-fail” mission was allowed to slip.
Secret Service Admissions, Trump’s Caution, and What Comes Next
The plaintiffs point to the agency’s own words as further evidence that this was not just an unforeseeable tragedy.[1][3] The lawsuits note that the Secret Service has acknowledged “breakdowns in communication, technological issues, and human failure” contributing to the Butler shooting, characterizing it as an “operational failure” that violated the agency’s “zero-fail mission.”[1] Reports also indicate that multiple agents faced discipline, including suspension without pay or reassignment to non-operational roles, suggesting internal recognition that professionals missed the mark.[1]
The two men who were shot at the Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, are suing the United States for "life altering physical and emotional injuries.”
David Dutch and James Copenhaver were shot at the rally on July 13, 2024. The men’s attorneys state that their injuries were a… pic.twitter.com/92hbzStjim
— The National Desk (@TND) June 3, 2026
Former President Trump himself has publicly said the Secret Service “had a bad day” and “made a mistake,” specifically citing the lack of coordination with local police and the failure to put an agent on the AGR roof.[4] At the same time, he has been cautious not to wage open war on the agency tasked with protecting him every day. For conservatives, the Butler lawsuits fit a disturbing pattern: career bureaucracies admit “mistakes” after the fact, but only thorough litigation and congressional pressure force real accountability, transparency, and reform.[1][3][4]
Sources:
[1] Web – Two men shot at Trump’s Butler rally sue federal government over …
[3] Web – Trump Assassination Attempt Update!
[4] Web – 2 Trump supporters wounded at Butler sue federal government
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