BUTLER TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) – Butler County officials said local law enforcement is prepared for former President Donald Trump’s return to a rally next month.
Trump will return to the site of the first assassination attempt on him in the first week of October, according to two sources familiar with Trump campaign planning, CBS News reported. The rally is scheduled for Oct. 5 at the Butler Farm Show fairgrounds, CBS News reported.
During Trump’s rally in Butler Township on July 13, gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks climbed to the roof of the AGR building and fired eight shots, hitting Trump. Kill Corey Comperatore and two other people seriously injured.
Butler officials said no contract has been signed for the agricultural show, but Butler Township Manager Tom Knights said officials are ready and waiting.
“So far, we have not been contacted by any agency or campaign about holding another rally,” Knights said Tuesday.
US intelligence said there would be significant changes during Trump’s second visit. Since the attempted assassination in Butler Township, the former president has been speaking at his outdoor rallies behind bulletproof glass.
Debbie Desmond and her daughter attended the rally on July 13. She said she was determined to see Trump again.
“I have no concerns,” said Desmond. “I want to visit him.”
Sources told KDKA-TV that Pennsylvania State Police are preparing for the rally and are asking officers if they can work. It is not clear to what extent local police and SWAT teams will be involved in next month’s rally.
“They need to be stricter,” Renfrew resident Kathy Yingling told KDKA-TV on Tuesday. “There needs to be more security. It needs to be a safer area.”
Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger said he had not heard of the rally, but added he was concerned there could be copycats.
KDKA-TV contacted the Secret Service on Tuesday but received no response.
Jennifer Borrasso
