BUTLER, Pa. (AP) — Two men who were shot during the first assassination attempt on Donald Trump this summer say the U.S. Secret Service was “negligent” in protecting the former president and other bystanders at the campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
David Dutch, 57, an ex-Marine, and James Copenhaver, 74, a retired liquor store manager, told NBC News in an exclusive interview Monday they were excited to be sitting in the bleachers behind the Republican nominee at the fairgrounds in Butler on July 13 when gunshots rang out and they were hit.
Another man, Corey Comperatore, 50, was killed in the shooting while shielding his family. Trump was wounded in the ear.
The interview with the two Pennsylvania men who were critically injured marked their first public statements since 20-year-old shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, opened fire in July from an unsecured rooftop nearby before he was fatally shot by sharpshooters.
“It was like getting hit with a sledgehammer right in the chest,” said Dutch, who served in both Desert Shield and Desert Storm in his time with the Marines from 1986 to 1992. He said he could see chunks of the bleacher and metal “flying all around” until the shooting stopped.
Dutch said Monday he was still “angry that the whole situation even happened. It should have never happened.” NBC News reported the two men's attorneys said they were looking into possible litigation over what they view as negligence by the Secret Service.
“It wouldn’t have happened, had it been secure,” Copenhaver said.
Kimberly Cheatle, director of the Secret Service at the time, called the attempt on Trump’s life at the Pennsylvania rally the Secret Service’s “most significant operational failure” in decades." She stepped down this summer after lawmakers called for her to resign.
Trump returned earlier this month to the Pennsylvania fairgrounds where he was nearly assassinated in July, urging a large crowd to deliver an Election Day victory that he tied to his survival of the shooting.
FILE - People hug after Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump was helped off the stage at a campaign event in Butler, Pa., July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
FILE - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is helped off the stage at a campaign event in Butler, Pa., July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
FILE - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is covered by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — Juan Soto's home run punctured Cleveland pitching, which then went wild.
Soto put New York ahead in a three-run third inning, Carlos Rodón got his first postseason win and the Yankees beat the Guardians 5-2 on Monday night in an AL Championship Series opener that included Cleveland throwing five wild pitches and walking nine batters.
Giancarlo Stanton added his 13th career postseason homer for the Yankees, who are seeking a record 41st AL pennant and their first since winning the 2009 title.
“Getting the start-off win is big,” Stanton said. “It’s a message in its own.”
Cleveland became the second team to throw a pair of run-scoring wild pitches in a postseason inning and tied a postseason record with five overall. Guardians pitchers walked six in a nine-batter span and nine overall.
“They don’t chase a whole lot,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “If I take something away from tonight, we just need to attack the zone better.”
New York batters have walked 36 times in five postseason games.
“That’s what they’re capable of. That’s in their DNA,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “We beat that over — we hammer it.”
Game 2 is at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night. Entering this year, teams taking the opener of a series with a 2-3-2 format have won 66 of 99 times.
Soto came in 7 for 11 with two homers against Cobb. Before a sellout crowd of 47,264 that included pop star Taylor Swift, Soto hit his first postseason homer for New York when he drove a high slider from Alex Cobb into the Yankees’ bullpen in right-center.
He made a circle sign toward the relievers with his hands as he rounded first.
“It’s only me and the bullpen.” Soto said, smiling. “We keep it to ourselves.”
Rodón rebounded from the Yankees’ only loss in the Division Series, limiting the Guardians to a pair of singles before Brayan Rocchio’s sixth-inning homer.
“The goal was to just stay in control, stay in control of what I can do, obviously physically and emotionally,” Rodón said. “I thought I executed that well tonight.”
Stanton's seventh-inning homer boosted the lead to 5-1. Steven Kwan cut the Guardians' deficit when he extended his postseason hitting streak to a team-record 11 games with an RBI single in the eighth off Clay Holmes.
Luke Weaver relieved with runners at the corners. He struck out pinch-hitter Will Brennan and retired José Ramírez on a groundout, and then followed a leadoff walk in the ninth with three straight strikeouts for his fourth save this postseason.
Making his first playoff appearance in 11 years, Cobb walked the bases loaded in the third and rookie reliever Joey Cantillo threw a pair of run-scoring wild pitches.
Cantillo had four wild pitches overall, one shy of the record for a postseason game set by Rick Ankiel of St. Louis in a 2000 NL Division Series opener against Atlanta. The only other time a team scored twice on wild pitches in a postseason inning was by Minnesota against Oakland's Tim Hudson and Ted Lilly in the 2002 AL Division Series.
“That performance was obviously the difference in the game, so that’s on me,” Cantillo said.
Cobb dropped in 0-2 in the playoffs, making just his fifth start in a year limited by injuries. He threw 36 of 65 pitches for strikes, getting only one swing and miss, and allowed three runs, five hits and three walks in 2 2/3 innings.
Cobb, who had hip surgery last Oct. 31, was removed because of hip tightness and a back spasm.
“It’s kind of been there for a little bit but, obviously, I had the surgery and tendinitis kind of flares up every once in a while," Cobb said. "Sometimes the back will tighten up along with it.”
Rodón struck out nine and walked none, getting 25 misses among 53 swings, matching the fourth-most misses in a postseason game since pitch-tracking began in 2008. His pitches broke so much that catcher Austin Wells had to throw to first three times on strikeouts for the putouts.
“He was just in complete command of himself and of his emotions,” Boone said.
Still, New York knows it was only one game. The Yankees opened the 2019 ALCS with a win at Houston, then lost three in a row and were knocked out in six games.
“In our eyes, we haven’t done nothing yet,” Stanton said. “We’ve got to win three out of six, and we take that as three out of three."
TRAINER’S ROOM
Yankees: LHP Nestor Cortes (flexor strain in pitching elbow) is to throw a second bullpen session Wednesday and is a possibility for the World Series roster, should the Yankees advance.
UP NEXT
Yankees RHP Gerrit Cole makes his third postseason start on Tuesday after beating Kansas City in the Division Series clincher. He is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA this postseason. RHP Tanner Bibee starts for the Guardians. He had a 2.08 ERA without a decision in a pair of Division Series starts against Detroit.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
New York Yankees' Jazz Chisholm Jr. (13) and Oswaldo Cabrera celebrate after Game 1 of the baseball AL Championship Series against the Cleveland Guardians Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in New York. The Yankees won 5-2. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
From left to right, Alex Verdugo, Aaron Judge and Juan Soto celebrate after Game 1 of the baseball AL Championship Series against the Cleveland Guardians Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in New York. The Yankees won 5-2. (AP Photo/Godofredo Vásquez)
Travis Kelce, top right, and Taylor Swift watch Game 1 of the baseball AL Championship Series between the Cleveland Guardians and New York Yankees Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Cleveland Guardians' José Ramírez reacts after grounding out against the New York Yankees during the eighth inning in Game 1 of the baseball AL Championship Series Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Godofredo Vásquez)
New York Yankees' Giancarlo Stanton celebrates in the dugout after hitting a home run against the Cleveland Guardians during the seventh inning in Game 1 of the baseball AL Championship Series Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Godofredo Vásquez )
New York Yankees' Giancarlo Stanton, center, hits a home run off Cleveland Guardians relief pitcher Erik Sabrowski (62) during the seventh inning in Game 1 of the baseball AL Championship Series Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New York Yankees' Giancarlo Stanton watches his home run against the Cleveland Guardians during the seventh inning in Game 1 of the baseball AL Championship Series Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
New York Yankees' Juan Soto, left, celebrates with Alex Verdugo (24) after scoring on a wild pitch against the Cleveland Guardians during the third inning in Game 1 of the baseball AL Championship Series Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Godofredo Vásquez)
New York Yankees' Aaron Judge scores on a wild pitch by Cleveland Guardians pitcher Joey Cantillo during the third inning in Game 1 of the baseball AL Championship Series Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Cleveland Guardians relief pitcher Joey Cantillo adjusts his cap after walking New York Yankees' Gleyber Torres during the fourth inning in Game 1 of the baseball AL Championship Series Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Godofredo Vásquez)
Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Alex Cobb reacts after giving up a home run to New York Yankees' Juan Soto during the third inning in Game 1 of the baseball AL Championship Series Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
New York Yankees' Juan Soto celebrates after hitting a home run against the Cleveland Guardians during the third inning in Game 1 of the baseball AL Championship Series Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
