First responders who were on the scene in Butler, Pennsylvania when a gunman tried to assassinate President Trump last summer kicked off the inauguration parade in Washington on Monday.
Firefighters, police officers, paramedics and others began the parade at the Capital One Arena to honor Mr. Trump. The firefighters walked through the arena holding the jacket and helmet of Corey Comperatore, a fire chief who was killed by the would-be assassin’s bullet during Mr. Trump’s rally in July.
The parade had been moved inside the Capital One Arena, home to Washington’s NHL and NBA teams, because of frigid temperatures and bitter winds.
Comparatore died at the rally while shielding his family from the bullets fired by Thomas Matthew Crooks at the Butler Farm Show grounds. Two others were seriously wounded in the attack.
Mr. Trump was speaking at the rally in Butler on the Sunday before the Republican National Convention when Crooks began firing at him and the crowd. A bullet struck Mr. Trump’s right ear. Crooks was shot dead by a Secret Service sharpshooter.
The incident prompted Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to resign, and the agency to overhaul its procedures. A bipartisan House task force found that the “tragic and shocking events in Butler, Pennsylvania were preventable and should not have happened.”
In his inaugural address earlier Monday, Mr. Trump spoke about the assassination attempt.
“Those who wish to stop our cause have tried to take my freedom, and indeed, tried to take my life,” he said. “In a beautiful Pennsylvania field, an assassin’s bullet ripped through my ear. I felt then and feel even more so now, that my life was saved for a reason. I was saved by God to make America great again.”
In a speech before Mr. Trump’s inaugural address, Rev. Franklin Graham said God alone had saved the president so he could keep fighting for America.
“Father, when Donald Trump’s enemies thought he was down and out, you and you alone saved his life and raised him up with strength and power by your mighty hand,” he said.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.