BUTLER, Pa. \u2014 The gunshots were high-pitched pops, slight and hollow in the open air.<\/p>\n
Donald Trump, the former president set to accept the Republican nomination in five days, was less than 10 minutes into his speech here to a crowd of tens of thousands. A miles-long line of cars crawled for hours to pass through metal detectors and bag inspections, just like any Trump event, until these green fairgrounds became a sea of red hats.<\/p>\n
Trump was almost an hour late, and his supporters waited impatiently under the blazing sun and thumping music. In the middle of the crowd, opposite the stage, a platform of TV cameras pointed at the podium, with reporters huddled underneath for shade.<\/p>\n
Finally Trump walked out, as usual, to chants of \u201cUSA\u201d and marveled: \u201cThis is a big crowd. This is a big, big, beautiful crowd.\u201d A bright red MAGA cap shaded his eyes, and his white shirt was open-collared in the heat as he leaned his arms on the lectern.<\/p>\n
He launched into his stump speech but quickly got bored with the prepared script. He offered to invite the Republican Senate candidate, Dave McCormick, to speak, but McCormick wasn\u2019t ready.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t mind if I go off teleprompter, do you?\u201d Trump teased. \u201cBecause these teleprompters are so damn boring.\u201d He asked to show \u201cthat chart that I love so much,\u201d showing border crossings across his and Joe Biden\u2019s presidencies, and acted amazed that his producers obliged, projecting it onto the giant screens to either side. \u201cWow, you guys are getting better with time.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was pointing to one of the screens, narrating the increase in immigration since he left office in 2021. \u201cLook what happened to our country!\u201d<\/p>\n
The pops came in pairs, a burst of five or six total. Trump swatted his ear, as if he heard a mosquito. Then he hunched his shoulders and ducked.<\/p>\n
\u201cGet down, get down, get down!\u201d Secret Service agents shouted as they rushed up onto the stage and surrounded him. The crowd screamed. Another burst of popping noises. More screaming. The people in the bleachers behind Trump shuffled, unsure about where to go. The people in chairs or standing crouched or fell to the ground. A dense cloud of smoke hung to the right of the stage, then dispersed quickly.<\/p>\n
One more solitary shot.<\/p>\n
More suited Secret Service agents rushed the stage, then black-clad men wearing body armor and helmets, and carrying assault rifles. The crowd shouted in confusion.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre we good?\u201d one of the officers said, audible from the podium microphone.<\/p>\n
\u201cShooter\u2019s down,\u201d another answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re good to move.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAre we clear?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re clear!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLet me get my shoes on,\u201d Trump said, as the agents lifted him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got you, sir.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHold on, your head is bloody.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLet me get my shoes on,\u201d he said again, as the agents formed a ring around him.<\/p>\n
The crowd, seeing him standing, started to cheer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWait,\u201d Trump said, and thrust up a fist. \u201cFight!\u201d he said. \u201cFight!\u201d<\/p>\n
Then the people roared and chanted again: \u201cUSA!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe gotta move,\u201d an agent said. Leaning on the agents for assistance, Trump kept his fist raised as he hobbled off the stage, down the stairs and into his black SUV. One black dress shoe remained on the red-carpeted stage.<\/p>\n
Officers \u2014 Secret Service, county sheriff\u2019s deputies, state troopers, U.S. Department of Homeland Security \u2014 started telling the crowd to evacuate, calling the site an active crime scene. The rallygoers walked out, calling and texting family and friends and recording videos. People were shocked but calm.<\/p>\n
As people passed the press risers elevating the cameras, some took out their anger on the media.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not safe. It\u2019s your fault.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou wanted political violence, now you got it. Hope you\u2019re all f\u2014ing happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe shot heard \u2019round the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe liberal media is responsible!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery f\u2014ing one of y\u2019all!\u201d<\/p>\n
Others sought out the cameras to offer eyewitness accounts, but they were jumbled and sometimes contradictory amid the panic.<\/p>\n
The crowd trudged glumly to the parking lot, a few stopping for a last-minute hot dog or snow cone.<\/p>\n
A man with a cane cowered behind the bathrooms, vomiting.<\/p>\n
They walked to their cars past Trump flags streaming in the wind over a long row of vendors selling MAGA hats and mug shot T-shirts and Trump keychains and vulgar bumper stickers and Trump visors topped with bright orange fake hair.<\/p>\n
A man with a bullhorn wearing a homemade \u201cJAN 6 SURVIVOR\u201d shirt called on people to march on Main Street, \u201cpeacefully and patriotically,\u201d echoing Trump\u2019s speech on the Ellipse on Jan. 6, 2021. Most everyone ignored him. One young man accused him of being an undercover federal agent and told him to shut up.<\/p>\n
They left behind a field strewn with empty plastic water bottles. A giant American flag hoisted from two cranes flapped high above the empty white bleachers bordered with red, white and blue bunting.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
BUTLER, Pa. \u2014 The gunshots were high-pitched pops, slight and hollow in the open air. Donald Trump, the former president set to accept the Republican nomination in five days, was less than 10 minutes into his speech here to a crowd of tens of thousands. A miles-long line of cars crawled for hours to pass […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":6067,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6066"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6066\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}