Trump Makes Announcement Fans Have Waited On
Former President Donald Trump addressed his supporters and the nation through his Truth Social platform following an attempted assassination during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.
“Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers yesterday, as it was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening. We will FEAR NOT, but instead remain resilient in our Faith and Defiant in the face of Wickedness,” Trump wrote.
“Our love goes out to the other victims and their families. We pray for the recovery of those who were wounded, and hold in our hearts the memory of the citizen who was so horribly killed. In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand United, and show our True Character as Americans, remaining Strong and Determined, and not allowing Evil to Win. I truly love our Country, and love you all, and look forward to speaking to our Great Nation this week from Wisconsin,” he added.
Trump confirmed that he would not change his plans to attend the Republican National Convention, which starts on Monday. He is scheduled to speak at the convention on Thursday.
“Based on yesterday’s terrible events, I was going to delay my trip to Wisconsin, and The Republican National Convention, by two days, but have just decided that I cannot allow a ‘shooter,’ or potential assassin, to force change to scheduling, or anything else,” he wrote on Truth Social.
Over the weekend, the U.S. Secret Service and local law enforcement announced they would not alter the security protocols for the RNC in Milwaukee.
“We’re not anticipating any changes to our operational security plans for this event,” said the Secret Service’s RNC coordinator, Audrey Gibson-Cicchino. She declined to answer questions about Saturday’s events in Pennsylvania, citing her jurisdiction over the RNC.
Gibson-Cicchino emphasized that the security planning in Milwaukee has been underway for 18 months and has already been designated the highest level of security event. Pressed about specific threats to this week’s gathering, Michael Hensle, the FBI’s special agent in charge in Milwaukee, stated that there is “no known specific articulated threat to the RNC during or any specific individual attendee” but acknowledged higher levels of online “chatter” about the assassination attempt.
FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate mentioned in a separate news briefing on Sunday that there have been increased online threats of violence since the incident.
Police Chief Jeffrey Norman noted that under state restrictions, the city cannot ban guns anywhere in Milwaukee due to Wisconsin’s open-carry legislation, which will affect the security perimeter surrounding the Fiserv Forum arena, where the convention will be held.
“We as a city cannot legislate out of that,” Norman said regarding the state’s open-carry allowances, adding that from a “law enforcement aspect, we have to operate within those guidelines.”
The FBI has officially classified the shooting attack on Trump shortly after his rally began Saturday afternoon as an “assassination attempt,” though the motive remains unknown.
Anthony Guglielmi, the chief of communications for the U.S. Secret Service, released a statement Saturday evening.
“During former President Trump’s campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on the evening of July 13th at approximately 6:15 p.m., a suspected shooter fired multiple shots toward the stage from an elevated position outside of the rally venue,” he said. “US Secret Service personnel neutralized the shooter, who is now deceased. US Secret Service quickly responded with protective measures and the former president is safe and being evaluated. One spectator was killed, two spectators were critically injured. The incident is currently under investigation, and the Secret Service has formally notified the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”