Pittsburgh — A Pittsburgh lawyer representing two men injured in the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump is seeking accountability after they suffered life-changing injuries.
James Copenhaver, 74, and David Duch, 57, were shot twice during the rally and seriously injured.
“I think at some point we're going to get to the bottom of this. [congressional] “The task force will certainly get answers through these investigations or, if litigation is necessary, through that process.” “The lawsuit was filed in a federal court in the U.S. on Monday and was brought before the Supreme Court in the wake of the lawsuit,” attorney Joseph Feldman of the Law Offices of Max C. Feldman told Fox News Digital on Monday.His office is exploring “a variety of avenues” to pursue accountability for the shootings that have changed his clients' lives forever.
Copenhaver and Duch are recovering from their injuries at home with their families, and although there have been “some setbacks,” Feldman said they are “on the road to recovery.”
The two victims question how the shooter, Thomas Crooks, was able to climb to the roof of the nearby, single-story American Glass Research (AGR) building and shoot Trump from about 150 yards away from the candidate's podium.
The building was near the congregation but not strictly within its official boundaries.
“[W]”We are the United States of America,” Feldman said, “and we put a lot of our security resources into this country, especially in our dealings with the federal government. And when we go to rallies to provide political support to politicians … security is provided by the federal government, and it doesn't work.”
Copenhaver and Duch also question how Crooks was able to park his car and fly a drone about 200 yards away from where the former president was scheduled to speak that afternoon, between 3:50 and 4:00 p.m.
FBI Director Christopher Wray testified at a congressional hearing on July 17 that Crooks was at the rally for about 70 minutes on the morning of the assassination attempt.
“Why isn't the airspace closed? Or why doesn't the federal government fly its own drones to monitor the area and know exactly who is coming and going days in advance?” asked Feldman, who served in the U.S. Army for seven years, including about a year in Afghanistan.
Questions also remain, such as who Crooks is, “what's on his phone, how he got access to these firearms and weapons, how he got access to the explosive devices?”
“Not everything you say to higher-ups goes straight to the top. Sometimes you know something is going on but you can't do anything about it or you don't have the orders to do so. So, I'm interested,” Feldman said. “I just served in Afghanistan for about a year and did hundreds of thousands of mission miles, and nobody ever gets that close to you.”
The House task force wants to hear from informants and whistleblowers to determine how 20-year-old Crooks managed to climb HVAC equipment and ductwork to get to the roof of the AGR building, where he hid until he began firing at about 6:11 p.m.
The FBI said at a July press conference that Crooks was carrying a DPMS AR-15-style gun with a folding stock when he entered the Butler Farm Show, where Trump was holding a campaign rally.
The Trump campaign announced the Butler rally on July 3. Three days later, on July 6, Crooks signed up to attend the rally.
That same day, Crooks investigated how far Oswald was from President Kennedy when he assassinated him in 1963. According to the FBI, on July 7, Crooks went to the rally and spent about 20 minutes in the area.
Crooks began taking shooting lessons in 2023 and in the spring of 2023, he purchased 25 guns online using a false name, the suit states.
Crooks' father legally purchased the AR-15 style rifle used by Crooks at the rally and legally transferred it to his son, and Crooks also legally purchased 50 rounds of ammunition from a local gun store the morning of the rally.
Rally attendees previously told Fox News Digital that people were pointing at a person on the roof of AGR before the shooting began.
Video shared exclusively with Fox News Digital from Copenhaver's vantage point at the rally shows a man believed to be Crooks walking across the rooftop of the AGR building just three minutes before shooting began.
“How can you get on a roof in a field with people screaming that someone is on the roof and a sniper next to you and not see the person until you fire the first bullet? That's their job. That's why they're there. The Secret Service is not there to listen to Donald Trump speeches or immigration statistics,” Feldman said.
Authorities first reported seeing a suspicious person near the rally at least an hour before Crooks opened fire, according to Congress and the FBI.
Local police notified headquarters about the suspicious individual and received confirmation that the Secret Service was aware of his presence.
It remains unclear how Crooks managed to evade police security despite being spotted by police more than an hour before the shots rang out, but the FBI said more than 300 agents and agents were working “around the clock” to gather facts and put together a clearer timeline of Crooks' actions.
Investigators said they found eight bullets on the roof where Crooks opened fire.
Trump took the podium at approximately 6 p.m., an hour after he was scheduled to speak. Eleven minutes later, Crooks fired multiple shots, killing 50-year-old Buffalo Township Fire Department fire chief Corey Comperatore, a husband and father of two daughters.
FBI officials are investigating whether Crooks had a motive for the assassination attempt and whether he had any co-conspirators, but said they have no evidence to suggest anyone else was involved.
