When a gunman opened fire at a rally for former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July, two men were critically injured.
Now, three months later, Jim Copenhaver and David Dutch are recovering from the injuries they sustained that day and are speaking out against the U.S. Secret Service for its lapse in security.
Copenhaver, 74, and Dutch, 57, talked exclusively with NBC News Monday about what transpired July 13 in western Pennsylvania.
Their day started on a good note as they were happy to be at the rally and sitting behind where Trump would speak.
That all changed when shots rang out and they were hit by bullets.
The two now believe the Secret Service, as well as law enforcement officials, failed the people they were employed to protect.
“I believe there was 100% negligence on the Secret Service, probably everybody involved in setting that security, down to inter-department communications,” Dutch said. “The negligence was vast. It was terrible.”
Copenhaver concurred.
“I’m sure there was negligence. It wouldn’t have happened, had it been secure,” Copenhaver said.
Dutch was asked if he thought the Secret Service failed him and Trump.
His two-word answer said it all.
“Big time,” he replied. “The whole security setup was poor.”
The men have retained attorneys who are now tasked with deciding who to sue for their injuries.
Copenhaver was shot in the triceps and abdomen, while Dutch was hit in the liver.
“It was like getting hit with a sledgehammer right in the chest,” Dutch said.
Dutch added he could see parts of the bleacher and metal “flying all around.”
Copenhaver didn’t realize what was going on. He finally did when he saw part of his sleeve get blown away.
“I turned around to my friend, and I said, ‘I think I was shot,’ and that’s when I got the second one and then I went down,” he said.
He collapsed on the bleachers and couldn’t stand back up.
Dutch and Copenhaver are still feeling the effects of that day.
Copenhaver said he has lost 30 pounds since the shooting. He also now walks with a cane. He has sporadic pain in his abdomen.
For Dutch, he still needs help caring for his bullet wound. He lost 25 pounds and can’t drive. He also can’t lift more than 10 pounds, he said.
“I never thought I’d be in this position,” he said. “I was usually the other guy helping other people out.”
“It’s a struggle every day,” Dutch added.
Corey Comperatore, 50, was killed as he tried to shield his family from the bullets. Trump‘s right ear was grazed by a bullet.
A Secret Service countersniper shot and killed the gunman, who who was perched on the rooftop of a building about 450 feet from where Trump was speaking.
Since the shooting, the Secret Service has been heavily criticized for the security failures that resulted in eight shots being fired.
Former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned after lawmakers sought her removal.
The “initial mission assurance report” done by internal investigators for the Secret Service said poor planning and communications between the agencies involved led to the security lapses and, ultimately, the shooting.
Dutch reported he was “angry” at the failed security lapse that resulted in the fact someone “tried to shoot the president, shot into a defenseless crowd.”
“I was just angry that the whole situation even happened. It should have never happened,” Dutch said.
