Corey Comperatore’s family tells of their year of grief
This is the first in a series of articles reflecting on the assassination attempt that happened in Butler County on July 13, 2024. More stories about the event that shook Butler County and the nation to its core will follow and include a special Sunday edition.
Those interested in reading more about the Butler Eagle’s coverage of the July 13 rally and its aftermath can purchase a 56-page book, “Meeting the Moment” for $20 by calling 724-431-2200 or visiting the Butler Eagle office at 514 West Wayne Street, Butler. A webpage to buy the event is forthcoming.
Even a year after the untimely death of her father, Corey Comperatore’s youngest daughter Kaylee Comperatore said life still doesn’t feel real.
“Everything I knew for the 24 years of my life got taken away in an instant. It’s been very hard trying to pick up the pieces and accept that my life will never be normal again,” she said.
On July 13, 2024, a Buffalo Township firefighter, his wife and his two adult daughters joined thousands of people at the Butler Farm Show grounds for a rally for then candidate President Donald Trump, who was campaigning for a second term. The four went ready to enjoy the outing and show support to their candidate of choice.
But at 6:11 p.m., just about 10 minutes after Trump took the stage, everything changed for the family. A gunman located on the roof of the nearby AGR International building opened fire on the rally in an assassination attempt on Trump.
Corey Comperatore was killed by Thomas Matthew Crooks. He died shielding his wife, Helen, and two daughters, Kaylee and Allyson, from the oncoming gunfire.
Three other people, including Trump, were injured by gunfire. The gunman, Crooks, was killed by countersnipers with the U.S. Secret Service.
Over the past year, each of the Comperatores have gone through their own unique grieving process. For Helen Comperatore, the past year has been focused on learning how to go on without her husband at her side.
“I had to learn how to live without my best friend,” she said. “We haven’t been apart in 34 years; (the future’s) a long time to go without your mate. I had to try to figure out how to be a single parent.”
Allyson Comperatore, the eldest of Corey Comperatore’s daughters, called the past year the slowest of her life.
“I just feel like the days have been so long, but yet, here we are,” she said. “It’s just about a year later, and it’s hard to grasp that amount of time has actually gone by.”
The family’s grief has not been the only challenge to arise over the past year. Following the rally and coverage of the aftermath, the Comperatores became recognizable to the general public nationwide.
As a result, the way Helen, Kaylee and Allyson Comperatore have had to interact with the world is a night and day comparison. Helen Comperatore said she still gets people who drive by the house to yell and receives mail with vitriolic messages.
“People hated me for a while, so my life was scary,” she explained. “You can’t really go anywhere without seeing people who know you. You can’t go to the grocery store because people know you. You’re just scared to be out in public in general.”
Allyson Comperatore attributed a lot of the change to the family’s politics becoming public knowledge.
“They didn’t know us, so they didn’t have something to judge us off of,” she said. “And now that we’re in the media and people know who we are, they just automatically judge based off of the fact that we were at a Trump rally.”
Despite a traumatic year for the Comperatore family, each has found their own silver lining. Helen Comperatore said she thinks fondly about all of the opportunities afforded to her family by Trump.
“It was just such an honor that he would want us (at the inauguration),” she said. “It was just the best treatment you could ask for. He just makes a point to make you feel so welcome.”
She said she and the president stay in communication, with him having sent a letter just two weeks prior.
“He wrote in there, he said, ‘I want you to know that our families are bonded for life,’” Helen Comperatore said. “I couldn’t believe I was getting a letter from the president. It’s so sad, but I think at that moment, my husband would be in his glory to have received such a letter.”
Kaylee Comperatore said she is glad to have met many people over the past year, despite the circumstances that brought most of them together.
“The people who were sitting behind us at the rally, we still talk to,” she said. “They’re attending my sister’s wedding. We go to dinners. We keep very close.”
Allyson Comperatore highlighted those who have supported the family from one step further away. Amid the negative messages from some are also a slew of kind messages from both neighbors and strangers via social media to cards in the mail.
“There have been some really negative people out there,” she said. “We experienced that, but we’ve experienced the kindness of strangers from around the world more than we’ve experienced any hatefulness from people around the world.”
Helen Comperatore thanked the local community for the overwhelming love and support shown to her and her family over the past year.
“I cannot even say in words how blessed I am,” she said. “It’ just been amazing, and I’m so glad that I live in this county because I couldn’t ask for better.”
Looking forward, Helen Comperatore said that everything, especially now, is for her children and eventual grandchildren.
“These two are his legacy,” Helen Comperatore said. “So, I always feel that everything I get is really for them. They’re the ones that are going to carry it on with my grandchildren.”
