On July 13, 2024, a legion of Butler County residents, along with visitors from other parts of the U.S. and even the world, came together at the Butler Farm Show Grounds to watch then candidate President Donald Trump speak at a rally, unaware that the event would impact their lives.

The attempted assassination hit the headlines across the world, but it was a particularly harrowing experience for those attending. It been a year since the attack took the life of Corey D. Comperatore, of Buffalo Township who died shielding his family; critically injured two other spectators and wounded Trump in the ear. The gunman, Thomas Matthews Crooks, was killed by law enforcement.

“Depending on where you were that day, everyone had such a different experience,” said Michelle Zang, an attendee from Connoquenessing. Many rally-goers — along with some who didn’t attend but were affected by the attack — stepped forward to share their stories and memories from the day with the Butler Eagle.

Angela Cicerchi, a resident of New Castle, drove from Lawrence County to be part of the rally. With a broken foot, Cicerchi had to use a rollator walker for assistance, along with some help from her sister-in-law.

Also struggling through the extreme heat and dehydration, Cicerchi and her sister-in-law had found a seat that was about 15 feet away from where Comperatore had been sitting.

Trump finally stepped out to greet the crowd at around 6:02 p.m. with “God Bless the USA” playing in the background. According to Cicerchi, who had waited all day in anticipation of this moment, Trump had hardly begun before the gunshots sounded.

The possibility of a second shooter meant the U.S. Secret Service held the crowd in the seating area until that issue had been resolved. After waiting patiently for the area to be cleared, the Secret Service directed the crowd to disperse in a direction that was neither the entrance nor the exit, Cicerchi said.

“Almost a year later, it’s still hard to wrap our heads around what we witnessed that day,” Cicerchi said.

She could never have expected something like this to take place in Butler County, she said.

“That’s quite a heavy burden for them (Butler County residents) to carry, knowing that an attempted assassination happened,” Cicerchi said. “I feel bad for the residents, especially the ones who live right around the farm show grounds.”

However, the experience at the first rally in July did not deter Cicerchi from going to the second rally in October that brought Trump back to Butler County.

“I wasn’t going to let anybody keep me from going to listen to my president speak,” Cicerchi said.

At first, Debbie Lightner, an attendee from Sarver, thought the “pop” sounds were firecrackers.

Lightner, whose daughter and two grandsons were visiting from Tennessee, said that she and her family were only about 25 yards away from Trump when SWAT rushed the stage and Trump was tackled by Secret Service agents.

“Everything happened so fast. It was like something from a movie that you never anticipate being a part of,” Lightner said.

For days after the incident, Lightner was unable to sleep. Lightner said she still affected by sounds in the public, like fireworks, and could not bring herself to go to the second rally in October.

Today, Lightner instinctively looks for exits when in large public spaces, like malls, and said she did not go to the Big Butler Fair due to a fear of a large crowds.

“I don’t know if I will ever participate in such a large event like that,” Lightner said. “It (the rally) was by far the biggest change of life experience that I have ever had. It was supposed to be an exciting day and it ended up being a part of history, and definitely not one I would want to be part of again.”

“I don’t think I will ever forget that day.”

Brian McLaughlin, an attendee from Butler, said that he had been observing the Secret Service looking at the gunman for about a minute before the gunman ever took a shot. When the first shot went off, he said he celebrated because he thought it was the Secret Service who fired at someone trying to attack Trump.

Most, but not everyone, dropped to the floor. McLaughlin said he followed when he realized what was going on. When the mass was cleared to leave, McLaughlin said most people didn’t seemed to know if anyone was shot.

In the aftermath, some of McLaughlin’s acquaintances, to his disappointment, were sharing celebratory posts that the shooting took place, and saying that they wished Trump had died.

“I thought that was very not just unprofessional but immoral,” said McLaughlin, who is also now more likely to believe that many people support political violence.

McLaughlin, a civil litigation lawyer and Marine Corps veteran, moved to Butler from Seven Fields in November. While he is still relatively new to the city, McLaughlin said an event like the shooting taking place right next door does not reflect on the people of Butler.

“The bigger thing is, everyone left in orderly fashion. Everyone was really nice,” McLaughlin said. “That’s the vibe that I get. It’s not a scary or hostile place.”

“Some guy came in here and did something real bad.”

Kim Otto, an attendee from Harmony, was situated to Trump’s left side close to the monitor with her boyfriend, and got to see Trump raise hit fist and shout “Fight! Fight! Fight!” a reaction that evoked much of the crowd to chant “USA!”

Once the Otto and her boyfriend had returned to their car, reality crashed in, Otto said, and she cried because she felt guilty for risking her boyfriend’s life — she had asked him to join her.

“That’s going to be with you for the rest of your life,” Otto said. The next few days, Otto said she dealt with the stress by spending some time alone with her dogs.

Nicole Richards, an attendee from Slippery Rock, went to the rally with her son, husband and father. Richards’ family has been involved with the Butler Farm Show for a long time, and she is as familiar with the farm show grounds as she is with campaign rallies.

“You just meet the nicest people from all over the world at these rallies,” Richards said of her past experiences at such gatherings.

This one was no different, she said, until the gunshots rang out at 6:11 p.m.

Richards said the shooting left all the spectators in shock, thinking to themselves, “Did this really just happen?”

While heading out, Richards said she saw a little boy, around 6 or 7 years old, dressed up like Trump, who was crying in the chaos of the situation.

“It was traumatic enough for us as adults, but for a little kid that can’t process what just happened — our heart broke for him,” Richards said.

Richards and her family spent about four hours in the parking lot after being cleared to leave, and did not reach her father’s home until 10:30 p.m.

What helped her deal with the trauma in the following weeks was Richards’ church, which formed a group with other rally attendees to share experiences and recover.

“I don’t believe we are put in places by chance,” Richards said. “I believe God puts us in positions or places for certain reasons and purposes.”

A major presence on the farm grounds on July 13 that was a big help to attendees, Richards said, was the medical team.

The day of the shooting, the weather had been extremely hot. Richards said that multiple attendees passed out from heat exhaustion and dehydration. Richards’ own friend was among those who had to be escorted to cooling tents.

“Those medical teams were already overwhelmed before Trump even took the stage,” Richards said. “Many of them volunteered.”

After the shooting occurred, Richards said the fallout put the volunteers into overdrive.

“They (medical teams) were heroes that day,” Richards said.

It was while driving past the Butler Farm Show Grounds on July 14, the day after the assassination attempt, that Michelle Zang saw reporters from all across the globe that she realized the whole world knew of Butler, and not for a good reason.

Zang, a resident of Connoquenessing, who has lived in Butler County all her life, attended the rally with her husband, Jason Zang, daughter Sophia Zang and son Wyatt Zang. The family was looking at slides on the monitor to their right when they heard two loud screams, along with what sounded like firecrackers.

“I was just shocked. I didn’t notice more,” said Jason Zang, who usually goes out of his way to observe his surroundings.

When the family dropped to the ground to protect themselves from the gunfire, they thought Trump had been shot, Michelle Zang said.

When then 16-year-old Sophia Zang glanced up one time, saw Trump was down and started crying. During the second glace, she saw Trump get up and realized he was alive.

“It gave me such a warm feeling inside knowing that he is still alive. I just couldn’t imagine what it would be like if he had been killed in front of my eyes,” Sophia Zang said.

Recovering from being tackled to the ground, blood gushing out of his ear, Trump raised his fist and shouted “Fight!”

Wyatt Zang, then 13, said the moment gave him a jolt of energy, as Trump built the crowd back up instead of leaving them hanging.

“It was a very historic moment; one I will remember for the rest of my life,” Wyatt Zang said.

After the crowd was cleared to leave, the family picked up information as they headed back to the parking lot.

“We feel like we have this camaraderie with Trump and with everyone that was there that day,” Michelle Zang said. “We feel this closeness to him, because we have been through this traumatic experience with him.”

Michelle Zang and Sophia Zang attended the second October rally, where Trump honored Comperatore and the other victims, as well as Butler in general, Michelle Zang said.

“It was a redeeming night,” Michelle Zang said.

For Andrew R. Dulya, a resident of Butler, the Saturday of the shooting was mostly a normal day.

Dulya and his girlfriend decided to go for a swim at Buttermilk Falls in Kittanning, away from the rally excitement and enjoy the hot, summer day. Without cellphone service, they had no idea what was going on near home.

It was while heading back that Dulya learned of the attempted assassination at the Farm Show grounds, where several of his family members and friends were attending the rally, including his parents.

“We frantically called our friend and family,” Dulya wrote to the Butler Eagle. “Some were shaken up, but everyone was OK.”

For Dulya, the day will be stuck with him forever for another reason. Later that evening, Dulya’s father died from a heart attack.

“To be honest, if the event didn’t happen, I would have never gotten the chance to talk to my dad for the last time,” Dulya wrote.

Nathan Johns, a resident of Sarver, said a number of reasons persuaded him not to attend what he called a hastily planned July 13 rally in Connoquenessing Township.

“I was a little shocked that it was so last minute before it was announced (Trump) was coming,” Johns said. Many people, like Johns, found out about the rally shortly before it was set to happen. In addition to that, he said, it was expected to rain.

Instead, Johns and his fiancé went to a family reunion. To avoid rally traffic, Johns said they left extra early, all in vain — they were still half an hour late. At the reunion, which was at the Connoquenessing Borough Park, Johns’ family would wave at helicopters flying up above, in case it was Trump in one of them.

Johns was 15 minutes away from returning home when his grandmother called him and informed him of the attempted assassination.

“I didn’t believe her at first. I remember sitting there in the restaurant we pulled over at, and watching the early coverage in shock,” Johns said. “We were all waiting to see what actually was true and what was just speculation.”

Johns said that this tragedy has made him hold his family a little closer.

“All because of a senseless act, we have become the face of an American disaster,” Johns said.

Rural Butler County is among the last places Johns said he could have foreseen as the site of an assassination attempt. “Now we’re thrust into the national spotlight.”

“It could have been us that got shot,” Johns said, looking back in hindsight. “I don’t know if it was fate or just dumb luck that we didn’t go, but I’m very thankful.”