Leslie Osche closed out 2024 with a Fleetwood Mac tribute concert at downtown Butler’s Penn Theater and an email raising concern about division in Butler County.

On her way to the recently renovated Main Street venue on the last weekend of a surprising year, the county commissioner’s chairwoman said she received an email from a resident who was worried about hate and division growing within the community.

Before the calendar page needed to be flipped for the new year, Osche remembers replying to that email.

“I said to this person, ‘I wish you could have been there, to see everyone come together,’” Osche said, referencing her evening at the Penn Theater’s showing of “Silver Springs, a Fleetwood Mac Experience.”

“There we were having a good time, rocking out to Fleetwood Mac music, and I can tell you, I hugged people who were white and Black; people who were straight and were gay and lesbian; all of the above,” Osche said.

That evening — just more than five months after an assassination attempt unfolded at the Butler Farm Show grounds — showed one way the community could come together, regardless of differences in background, beliefs and opinions, she said.

Osche was at the Connoquenessing Township venue, along with fellow Republican county Commissioner Kim Geyer, on July 13, 2024, when a gunman fired eight shots from a nearby rooftop into the crowd gathered for then candidate President Donald Trump’s campaign rally.

The shooting killed Buffalo Township resident and firefighter Corey Comperatore, critically injured two others and led Trump to be treated at Butler Memorial Hospital for an ear injury. The gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was shot and killed by a countersniper with the Secret Service.

In the weeks and months that followed, Osche and the other commissioners — Geyer and Democrat Kevin Boozel — joined the rest of Butler County in learning to navigate the aftermath of the undesirable addition to local history.

In February, Boozel took to social media to alert the public about friction that he said existed within the board of commissioners

“It’s with a heavy heart I feel the public needs to know the divisive nature of my fellow Commissioner Leslie Osche has continued to promote slanderous behavior and divisive political radicalism,” Boozel said in the Facebook post. “I would question her ability to serve you and would call for her resignation.”

He referenced an email sent from Osche to a local business owner, where she indicated she could not attend an upcoming event and was concerned about Boozel’s actions at an earlier event.

“I cannot stomach the hypocrisy of my colleague who wants to support a motorcycle ride for Corey, when he is directly responsible for the bullying of the Sheriff that led to the death and injury of our citizens,” Osche said. “I will quietly continue to work with him for the sake of our County. But prefer not to subject myself to his antics outside what is necessary.”

On the night of the assassination attempt, texts acquired by the Butler Eagle indicated Osche told Boozel “you will burn in hell” — an interaction related to an earlier disagreement about whether a contract should have been pursued by the county for providing seven sheriff’s office deputies for rally security. Boozel advocated for a contract, while Osche said no contract was needed. She said it was a mutual aid situation and the sheriff agreed. No contract was prepared.

And now, as the three navigate new disagreements, including another related to sheriff’s office agreements, they said in recent interviews that they see Butler County as a place where people continue to stand together — even while the aftermath of the Trump rally shooting lingers one year later.

“I want to give the three commissioners credit,” Boozel said. “Look, we may have disagreements, and that’s OK. We may disagree publicly, and that’s OK. At the end of the day, we have a job and a process, and we strive for excellence in governance.”

It is not easy to be a Democrat or a Republican in Butler County these days, Boozel argued. To get over the hump of partisanship, it’s a daily task that requires sitting at the table and talking it out, focusing on county projects, and working with local state representatives and senators in Harrisburg, he said.

The county commissioners emphasized working together to address present-day and future needs of the county. For example, Geyer and Boozel said they are focused on investments in public safety, such as the startup of the Emergency Services Unit and Paramedic Academies at Butler County Community College, and allocation of opioid settlement dollars through the Law Enforcement Treatment Initiative program.

Osche said overall, the work of the county’s leaders, along with community efforts to address any current issues, has not changed.

“I think we have gone on in terms of the basic work that we were elected to do,” Osche said. “The day-to-day managing of budgets and infrastructure, and water and sewage, things we’ve been able to accomplish, working with manufacturers, upgrading their facilities, automation and AI, also working with the recovery community, these are things we have been dealing with. At its very basic core, I don’t think our work as changed.”

For something like this to happen here in Butler County, with so much media coverage and ensuing attention, it is both still a gut punch and hard to believe it happened.

“On a personal level, I would say shock set in first. It was unbelievable it would happen, especially in our own county,” Boozel said. “Not a lot normally happens in Butler, thank goodness. We like it that way.”

The commissioners have all emphasized the shooting was the result of non-Butler County resident — Thomas Matthew Crooks — and should not overcome the good work of those who live here or define the county’s values.

The commissioners recognize the shooting is definitely a mark on the county’s history, but not a true picture of what Butler County is about. Still, they have to deal with the reality: Butler County is the place where the shooting happened.

Boozel speaks of traveling out of town and when he tells people where he’s from, they respond, “Oh my gosh, you’re from Butler?”

Geyer and Osche said they find themselves frequently talking about the shooting when asked by constituents, media and even friends and family.

“Seldom do we, as a county, experience this level of tragedy that was played out on both the national and global stage and it has certainly impacted all our lives forever,” Geyer said.

Osche also raised concern about how “keyboard warriors,” or those who make threats via digital means, will continue to fuel division. Boozel said he has been in contact more than once with Homeland Security regarding comments made on social media and letters that have been written.

Threats online within Butler County have even prompted an arrest. In May, Butler County resident Shawn Monper, 32, was charged for making threats to assault and murder Trump and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, according to Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti.

“The political environment in general, and social media, are challenging. I don’t think that issue stems from July 13, I think that was present prior, and continues to be problematic,” Osche said. “Navigating it is getting more challenging.

“I could sugarcoat and smile and say we’re having a great time, but it’s not, it’s a painful thing to have to deal with.”