James Copenhaver, wounded in the 2024 Trump Butler assassination attempt, has died more than two years later after never fully recovering from his injuries.

Fox News reported that James Copenhaver of Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, the mid-70s veteran gravely wounded at President Donald Trump’s July 13, 2024, rally, has died, with his family confirming the loss.

A family statement provided Thursday afternoon said Copenhaver passed away on September 23, 2026, surrounded by his loved ones. He had lived with lasting wounds from the shooting at the Butler Farm Show complex outside Butler, Pennsylvania.

Thomas Matthew Crooks scaled the roof of a nearby glass manufacturing building that day and opened fire on the crowd. Corey Comperatore, a Butler County firefighter, was killed in the bleachers behind the dais. David Dutch was also wounded and survived. Copenhaver was hit and later described the moment in plain terms.

In a 2025 interview with Pittsburgh’s KDKA, Copenhaver recalled standing to look at a jumbotron when the shots came. “Next thing I know, my sleeve has been yanked,” he said. “I could see a portion of it going by pretty fast, and I heard ‘pew.’ I heard it, and I didn’t realize at the time that I had gotten shot.” He added that it felt “like a jolt” and that he did not want to stand anymore, later saying a second shot also struck him but that both bullets “went into soft material.”

Family confirms death and recalls a life of service

The Copenhaver family released a detailed statement marking both the personal loss and the two years of hardship that followed the rally.

"It is with profound sadness that the Copenhaver family confirms that James Copenhaver passed away on September 23, 2026, surrounded by his loved ones,"

They described him first as a husband, father, and grandfather whose family stood at the center of his world.

"Above all else, James was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. James shared a lifetime of commitment to his wife, instilled the values of hard work, integrity, and the service of others in his children, and found some of his greatest joy in life in his grandchildren. His family was the center of his world, and he was the center of theirs."

The statement also stressed his military service and love of country.

"James’s dedication to this great country was a defining part of his life. As a veteran, he proudly served our nation in the armed forces, and his love of country never wavered. James was a true American patriot who believed deeply in the freedoms and ideals upon which this nation was founded, and he embodied the very best traits of our great nation."

They thanked supporters who prayed for him after he was “gravely wounded while in attendance at President Trump’s rally on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania,” and asked for privacy as they mourn.

The New York Post likewise reported that Copenhaver died after complications tied to the gunshot wounds he suffered when Crooks fired into the crowd, and that he had dealt with permanent injuries that included bullet fragments and multiple surgeries.

Trump and House Republicans mourn a wounded patriot

President Trump posted a tribute on Truth Social the same day the family confirmation became public, calling Copenhaver a “true American Patriot” and his death a “tremendous loss.”

"More than two years ago in Butler, Pennsylvania, a crazed gunman attempted to stifle our America First Movement. Instead, Jim and so many other wonderful Patriots who love our Country, stood united in defense of our shared values of Freedom, Liberty, and Justice. After being wounded while protecting his family, Jim showed tremendous bravery, courageously continuing to FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT, and maintaining a positive spirit despite unimaginable hardships,"

Trump closed by saying Copenhaver’s “indelible legacy of love and devotion will forever endure” and offered prayers for the family, “especially his incredible wife Marianne.”

Breitbart reported the same presidential tribute and noted that Copenhaver had been seated behind Trump when the shots hit, leaving him with permanent injuries that included bullet fragments.

The House Republican Conference said lawmakers were “deeply saddened” and posted its own statement of mourning.

"Jim endured unimaginable hardship with strength and perseverance. We join his family and loved ones in mourning his loss and praying for them during this difficult time. May he rest in peace,"

Just The News reported Trump’s public mourning of the man shot at the Butler rally more than two years earlier and highlighted the president’s description of Copenhaver’s courage after he was wounded while protecting his family.

Local officials who were present that day also spoke. Mayor Jondavid Longo of nearby Slippery Rock, who had spoken at the Butler rally, posted on X that Copenhaver “survived that day, but he never fully recovered from the wounds.”

"[Copenhaver] survived that day, but he never fully recovered from the wounds. For two years he lived with surgeries, remaining fragments, and pain that never left him. Those of us who were there that day have never forgotten Corey Comperatore, [David Dutch, or Jim],"

Longo added that Butler County still carries that afternoon and offered prayers for Marianne and the Copenhaver family. Journalist Ken Silva, who wrote a book on the assassination attempt, said a person close to the family also confirmed the death and that Copenhaver had been dealing with permanent injuries, including bullet fragments still lodged in his body.

Security failures left a preventable attack possible

The shooting immediately placed the U.S. Secret Service under intense scrutiny. Then-Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned less than two weeks later, taking responsibility for the security lapse after the agency had left the roof Crooks used unsecured.

A bipartisan House task force later concluded the Butler attack was preventable and identified failures in planning, execution, and leadership. Six Secret Service agents were later suspended without pay. Rep. Carlos Gimenez of Florida, who served on the task force, climbed onto the same roof Crooks used and later told Fox News Digital he was incredulous at how easy it was to scale.

Those breakdowns remain part of the public record surrounding the attempt, even as newer FBI documents on Thomas Crooks have kept attention on the gunman’s preparations and the gaps that let him reach a firing position.

Copenhaver filed a lawsuit against the United States earlier this year that alleged he was required to undergo multiple surgeries because of the wounds. The filing underscored how the injuries continued to shape his life long after the cameras left Butler.

Trump returned to the same Butler site in October 2024, less than three months after the attempt, for another rally and to honor Comperatore. The raised-fist image from the first attack became a lasting campaign symbol as he went on to win a nonconsecutive second term.

Separate threats against the president have continued to surface in the years since, including a case in which a federal judge paused the trial of a man accused of attempting to assassinate Trump at a White House Correspondents’ Association dinner setting.

Copenhaver’s death closes one more chapter from the afternoon that also took Comperatore’s life and left Dutch and others permanently marked. The family asked the public to keep them in prayer while respecting their privacy as they celebrate a life defined by service, faith in the country’s founding ideals, and devotion at home.

Political fights will go on, from midterm forecasts to courtroom battles, yet the human cost of that July day in Butler did not end when the last shot was fired.

A free country owes its patriots better protection than an unsecured roof and a preventable attack, and it owes their families the truth about how that failure was allowed to happen.