BETHEL PARK, Pa. – A local GOP volunteer who helped set up and later attended former President Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania last weekend, said he and other activists raised concerns the night prior about the venue’s security.
Zach Scherer, a volunteer firefighter from Chicora – a short drive northeast of the Butler Farm Show – told Fox News Digital on Wednesday he was also in the third row behind Trump on the risers at the moment the former president was injured and fellow firefighter Corey Comperatore was killed.
“Friday night; I’ll take it back a day — there was a group of us that had volunteered on the Trump campaign to do rally set up, which included setting up the barricades, the stage set-up and other things that were needed to make sure this was a successful event,” Scherer said.
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Zach Scherer, who attended the rally and assisted in set-up, speaks to Fox News Digital (Fox News Digital)
“We did a walk through at 7 PM on Friday night, and we raised multiple concerns with the state GOP staff about parking, about security issues we saw, where there were a lot of barricades out.”
“And all of our safety concerns that we that we brought up on Friday evening were strictly turned down and there were no answers given to any of our questions or concerns about security in that matter,” he added.
Scherer said he has volunteered for at least 20 other Trump rallies and that whenever security or logistics concerns were brought to party or law enforcement officials, they were rectified by the time the event began.
“We always saw the change in place the day of the rally. And [Butler] was the first one that I saw no changes made from Friday night to Saturday morning when we got there at 7:30 [AM].”
Scherer said the political campaigns’ advance teams often consist of Secret Service agents, paid staff, and state party staff.
When asked further about how volunteers would express such concerns, Scherer said the state party volunteers and workers on-site are typically the point of contact, but it was unclear where in the chain of command the alleged break in communication occurred.
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Donald Trump is rushed offstage by U.S. Secret Service agents after being grazed by a bullet during a rally on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Fox News Digital reached out to both the Pennsylvania GOP and Pennsylvania State Police for comment. An officer who picked up the phone at the barracks covering Butler County directed Fox News Digital to a lieutenant in the Harrisburg headquarters, where a message was left.
Scherer added the preamble to the rally had an air of “disorganization” to it.
“There were multiple concerns about this venue — that it’s not big enough, that there were too many points of entry … there were too many open rooftops. And, you know, this was all pointed out to the volunteer team, but I’m not sure if it was their lack of concern, or whether that information was ever relayed to the Secret Service or the State Police.“
Four years prior, Trump held a conversely fondly-remembered rally on Halloween in Butler, on a stage bedecked with pumpkins and other autumnal paraphernalia.
Scherer said the other difference between the two events was that the 2020 venue was the Butler airport, which felt much more secure during set-up and the rally itself.
Members of the crowd duck under chairs after former president Donald Trump is assisted offstage during a campaign rally at Butler Farm Show Inc. on Saturday, July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pa. Trump ducked and was taken offstage after loud noises were heard after he began speaking. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
He said he noticed that the airport venue did not have as many entry points and that Secret Service snipers and officers were visible on the two rooftop-type areas he could see from the dais.
He said that when he arrived for setup on Friday, he was able to drive right up to the stage, and that “anybody could have been on those grounds throughout the entire week, planning… other sorts of chaos as this Mr. Crooks had.”
Thomas Crooks, 20, was identified by authorities as the shooter at Saturday’s rally.
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Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is rushed offstage during a rally on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“I just feel that there should have been a higher security throughout the week as well on access to those Farm Show grounds.”
Scherer also spoke about the loss of Corey Comperatore, who he did not know personally, but felt a bond with due to the fact they were both volunteer firefighters in the county.
He spoke to Fox News Digital from outside the vigil for the 50-year-old, who has been hailed a hero for shielding his family from Crooks’ attack.
“That’s one of the things that hits close to home is, you know, we all went to this rally thinking that it’s going to be a fun, energetic time. And unfortunately, you know, Corey lost his life and, all of his brothers and sisters in the fire-service, they’re going to come together tomorrow for a funeral procession,” he said.
“And, you know, it’s just heartbreaking for our community here in Butler County.”
When gunfire erupted Saturday, Scherer recounted seeing Trump “drop” and come up bloodied.
“I instantly went to the ground… and I’m like ‘Dad, you’ve got to get down’,” he said, adding that he pulled his father away from any further gunfire, as he could not immediately figure out where the shots were coming from.
He said the Secret Service then issued an evacuation order, which led to a “landfall of people” pushing to get out of harm’s way.
Fox News’ Kyle Schmidbauer contributed to this report.