Donald Trump has declared that “nobody can stop free speech or gathering,” after announcing a new rally in Pennsylvania.
Former US President Donald Trump has announced he will hold a “big and beautiful rally” in Butler, Pennsylvania, where he was wounded in an assassination attempt earlier this month.
Trump narrowly escaped death at a rally in Butler on July 13, when a would-be assassin’s bullet grazed his ear. The gunman, firing from a rooftop that the US Secret Service had inexplicably left unsecured, killed one spectator at the rally and injured two others before being shot dead by Secret Service snipers.
The rally ended with cheers and chants of “USA” as Trump stood up and pumped his fist in the air, before being escorted to safety by his security detail.
“I will be going back to Butler, Pennsylvania for a big and beautiful rally, honoring the soul of our beloved firefighting hero, Corey, and those brave patriots injured two weeks ago,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Friday.
Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old former firefighter, was fatally shot in the head during the attempted assassination.
“What a day it will be – fight, fight, fight!” Trump continued, echoing the phrase he mouthed to supporters as he stood up after the shooting. “Stay tuned for details.”
Trump did not disclose a date or location for the rally. The July 13 rally was held at the Butler Farm Show, a fairground near the city’s regional airport.
Following the shooting, Secret Service officials advised Trump against holding large-scale outdoor rallies, the Washington Post reported earlier this week. According to a separate report in the New York Times, the agency repeated requests from the Trump campaign to provide extra resources at these large events.
In a Truth Social post on Saturday, Trump said that he will “continue to do outdoor rallies,” and claimed that the Secret Service had “agreed to substantially step up their operation.”
“No one can ever be allowed to stop or impede free speech or gathering,” the former president concluded.