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House Republicans huddled for a somber safety discussion less than 12 hours after the attempted assassination of former President Trump.

House GOP lawmakers spoke with their sergeant at arms via conference call on Sunday afternoon where questions about security at the Republican National Convention dominated discussion.

‘I think most are angered by the failure of security yesterday,’ one House Republican on the call told Fox News Digital.

That lawmaker said they felt safe ‘overall’ but noted they now had local police stationed by their driveway.

Another House GOP lawmaker said they sensed ‘low confidence’ among members on the call. When asked if they felt that way in relation to the RNC or lawmakers’ safety overall, they replied, ‘All of it.’

That second member said they felt ‘a lot less safe’ in the wake of Trump’s shooting.

‘Tone was pretty muted and solemn but unified, obviously,’ a third House GOP lawmaker said of the meeting.

They said they were ‘comfortable’ with their campaign’s security but pointed out that there was always a risk to members who aren’t in leadership.

‘The rank and files are generally vulnerable every day we aren’t in the Capitol, unless we have special events with deputies there etc.,’ that Republican said. ‘You kind of have to assume a level of risk, unfortunately. And pray there aren’t crazies there that day.’

There is renewed scrutiny on the safety of elected officials in the U.S. in the hours after a gunman opened fire at Trump’s Butler, Pennsylvania, rally on Saturday afternoon.

‘Are elected officials safe[?] All you have to [do] is witness the violent [protests] over the last few years where cities have been destroyed, innocent lives have been lost, and anarchy has destroyed our rule of law,’ Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital via text message.

House Republicans who spoke with Axios said they were taking added ‘precautions’ at events in the near future and ‘discussing with our security advisors on how to proceed.’

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have since called on each other to ease up on divisive rhetoric and called for unity in the wake of the deadly shooting, which killed one rally attendee and saw two others critically injured. The shooter was killed by the Secret Service.

Trump was injured but escorted to safety by Secret Service agents, but not before pumping his fist on the stage and saying ‘fight’ twice.

 

‘We’ve got to turn the temperature down in this country. We need leaders of all parties on both sides to call that out and make sure that happens so that we can go forward and maintain our free society that we all are blessed to have,’ Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said on NBC’s ‘Today’ show on Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, released a statement condemning the current political environment, which he said is leading to ‘a dark and almost hopeless future of diminishing freedom, increasing violence, and growing instability led by unserious people who care more about their own personal well-being than the nation’s.’

‘In the pursuit of short-term political gain, they are eager to exaggerate our differences and cast their political opponents as diabolical caricatures bent on destroying the country,’ he said.

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Amid a sea of inflammatory political rhetoric this election season, President Biden and White House Cabinet members unequivocally condemned political violence after the attempted assassination of former President Trump over the weekend, with many also expressing sympathy for Trump and condolences to the family of a spectator killed during the attack.

Vice President Harris wrote on X that ‘assassination attempts have no place in our nation,’ adding that she and her husband, Doug Emhoff, were praying for the family of the deceased victim, identified as a former fire chief, Corey Comperatore.

‘As @POTUS said, we must work toward unity as Americans. Assassination attempts have no place in our nation, or anywhere. Doug and I pray for the family of the victim who was senselessly killed yesterday and hope for a speedy recovery for those injured.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Attorney General Merrick Garland, Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas also condemned ‘political violence in America.’ 

‘I’m shocked and saddened by the shooting at former President Trump’s rally and grateful that he is safe. As @POTUS said, there is no place for political violence in America and we must all condemn it,’ Blinken posted to X on Saturday night.

Austin said the ‘entire’ Department of Defense ‘condemns this violence, which has absolutely no place in our democracy.’

‘This is not the way that we resolve our differences in America — and it must never be. I’m relieved that reports indicate former President Trump is safe, and I am praying for him and his family and everyone affected by this appalling incident,’ he said.

Garland – who caught the ire of House Republicans this year who voted to hold him in contempt of Congress over the Biden-Hur audio recordings – released a lengthy statement on Sunday offering condolences to the victim’s family and thanking law enforcement officers who responded to the attempted assassination.

‘I want to reiterate that the violence that we saw yesterday is an attack on our democracy itself,’ Garland said. ‘The Justice Department has no tolerance for such violence. And as Americans, we must have no tolerance for it. This must stop.’

Becerra, who previously brought a lawsuit against Trump during his presidency over allegedly violating the Clean Air Act, the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, said he was ‘relieved’ to hear that Trump was safe.

‘Political violence is never acceptable. While we learn more about what happened, there is no escaping the fact that gun violence is an urgent public health crisis in this country,’ Becerra’s post on X read.

Buttigieg, who has been one of Trump’s vocal critics over the years, called the incident a ‘horrible moment’ and said he was ‘encouraged’ that Trump was doing well.

‘An entire nation must speak with one voice today to completely and unequivocally reject all political violence,’ he wrote on X. 

Other Cabinet members offering sympathies include Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, Secretary of Veteran Affairs Denis McDonough and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield.

‘My prayers are with all of the victims who were injured or killed during yesterday’s attack, and with those traumatized by the violence. Such acts ought not to happen at a political rally, or any place else, in our country,’ Vilsack wrote on X. 

‘We condemn this violence in the strongest possible terms and commend the Secret Service for their swift action today,’ Mayorkas – who has also been the subject of House GOP impeachment inquiries – wrote on X. ‘We are engaged with President Biden, former President Trump, and their campaigns, and are taking every possible measure to ensure their safety and security.’

He added that maintaining the safety of presidential candidates is one of the department’s ‘vital priorities.’

The statements come just a day before the Republican National Convention is scheduled to begin on Monday in Milwaukee, where delegates will officially select Trump to be the presumptive GOP presidential candidate. Biden said early Sunday he instructed the Secret Service to thoroughly examine all the Republican National Convention’s security measures ahead of its start time, but the agency said it will not change its current protocol for the weeklong event.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

Amid a sea of inflammatory political rhetoric this election season, President Biden and White House Cabinet members unequivocally condemned political violence after the attempted assassination of former President Trump over the weekend, with many also expressing sympathy for Trump and condolences to the family of a spectator killed during the attack.

Vice President Harris wrote on X that ‘assassination attempts have no place in our nation,’ adding that she and her husband, Doug Emhoff, were praying for the family of the deceased victim, identified as a former fire chief, Corey Comperatore.

‘As @POTUS said, we must work toward unity as Americans. Assassination attempts have no place in our nation, or anywhere. Doug and I pray for the family of the victim who was senselessly killed yesterday and hope for a speedy recovery for those injured.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Attorney General Merrick Garland, Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas also condemned ‘political violence in America.’ 

‘I’m shocked and saddened by the shooting at former President Trump’s rally and grateful that he is safe. As @POTUS said, there is no place for political violence in America and we must all condemn it,’ Blinken posted to X on Saturday night.

Austin said the ‘entire’ Department of Defense ‘condemns this violence, which has absolutely no place in our democracy.’

‘This is not the way that we resolve our differences in America — and it must never be. I’m relieved that reports indicate former President Trump is safe, and I am praying for him and his family and everyone affected by this appalling incident,’ he said.

Garland – who caught the ire of House Republicans this year who voted to hold him in contempt of Congress over the Biden-Hur audio recordings – released a lengthy statement on Sunday offering condolences to the victim’s family and thanking law enforcement officers who responded to the attempted assassination.

‘I want to reiterate that the violence that we saw yesterday is an attack on our democracy itself,’ Garland said. ‘The Justice Department has no tolerance for such violence. And as Americans, we must have no tolerance for it. This must stop.’

Becerra, who previously brought a lawsuit against Trump during his presidency over allegedly violating the Clean Air Act, the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, said he was ‘relieved’ to hear that Trump was safe.

‘Political violence is never acceptable. While we learn more about what happened, there is no escaping the fact that gun violence is an urgent public health crisis in this country,’ Becerra’s post on X read.

Buttigieg, who has been one of Trump’s vocal critics over the years, called the incident a ‘horrible moment’ and said he was ‘encouraged’ that Trump was doing well.

‘An entire nation must speak with one voice today to completely and unequivocally reject all political violence,’ he wrote on X. 

Other Cabinet members offering sympathies include Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, Secretary of Veteran Affairs Denis McDonough and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield.

‘My prayers are with all of the victims who were injured or killed during yesterday’s attack, and with those traumatized by the violence. Such acts ought not to happen at a political rally, or any place else, in our country,’ Vilsack wrote on X. 

‘We condemn this violence in the strongest possible terms and commend the Secret Service for their swift action today,’ Mayorkas – who has also been the subject of House GOP impeachment inquiries – wrote on X. ‘We are engaged with President Biden, former President Trump, and their campaigns, and are taking every possible measure to ensure their safety and security.’

He added that maintaining the safety of presidential candidates is one of the department’s ‘vital priorities.’

The statements come just a day before the Republican National Convention is scheduled to begin on Monday in Milwaukee, where delegates will officially select Trump to be the presumptive GOP presidential candidate. Biden said early Sunday he instructed the Secret Service to thoroughly examine all the Republican National Convention’s security measures ahead of its start time, but the agency said it will not change its current protocol for the weeklong event.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

President Biden addressed the nation from the Oval Office on Sunday night, saying the attempted assassination of former President Trump is forcing Americans to ‘take a step back’ and calling on all sides to ‘lower the temperature in our politics.’

‘My fellow Americans, I want to speak to you tonight about the need for us to lower the temperature in our politics,’ Biden said. ‘Do remember, while we may disagree, we are not enemies. We’re neighbors, we’re friends, coworkers, citizens, and most importantly, we are fellow Americans. We must stand together.’

The attempted assassination of Trump ‘calls on all of us to take a step back, take stock of where we are,’ he added.

Biden said he was ‘grateful’ that Trump is ‘doing well’ and said he is keeping ‘him and his family in our prayers.’ He also extended ‘our deepest condolences’ to the family of Corey Comperatore, who was fatally shot as he shielded his wife and daughters from the bullets.

The president linked several incidents of recent political violence to the attempt on Trump, pointing to the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021; the attack on former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband; an attempted plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020; and the ‘intimidation of election officials.’

‘There is no place in America for this kind of violence or for any violence, ever, period. No exceptions,’ Biden said.

The president stressed that ‘disagreement is inevitable in American democracy,’ and ‘part of human nature,’ but incidents like the shooting on Saturday can not be ‘normalized.’

‘Politics must never be a literal battlefield,’ Biden said, ‘God forbid – a killing field.’

Trump was hit as multiple shots were fired towards the stage from an elevated position near the outdoor venue where he was holding a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday. The bullet pierced the upper part of his right ear before the former president was rushed from the stage by Secret Service agents. 

The would-be assassin was identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. Crooks was killed by a Secret Service sniper soon after he opened fire.

But Crooks killed one spectator – Comperatore, a former fire chief in Buffalo Township, Pa. 

Authorities say two other people were critically injured in the attack and the FBI is investigating the shooting as an assassination attempt. 

‘Tonight I want to speak to what we do know: A former president was shot. An American citizen killed – simply exercising his freedom to support the candidate of his choosing,’ Biden continued. ‘We can not – we must not – go down this road in America.’

Biden said that politics should be an ‘arena for peaceful debate to pursue justice, to make decisions guided by the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution.’

‘We stand for an America not of extremism and fury, but of decency and grace,’ Biden said. ‘All of us now face a time of testing as election approaches. The higher the stakes, the more fervent the passions become.’

Biden pointed to the start of the Republican National Convention on Monday in Milwaukee, Wis.

‘I’ve no doubt they’ll criticize my record and offer their own vision for this country,’ Biden said. ‘I’ll be traveling this week, making the case for our record and the vision – my vision – for the country, our vision. I’ll continue to speak out strongly for our democracy; stand up for our Constitution and the rule of law. To call for action at the ballot box, no violence on our streets. That’s how democracy should work.’ 

Biden said that the parties need to ‘resolve our differences at the ballot box’ and called for Americans to ‘get out of our silos.’

‘Let’s remember here in America, our unity is the most elusive of all goals right now,’ he said. ‘Nothing is more important for us now than standing together. We can do this.’

Biden urged Americans to ‘never lose sight of who we are.’

The Oval Office address was Biden’s second opportunity to speak about the Trump assassination attempt on Sunday. Earlier in the day, he said he talked with Trump on Saturday night and the rivals ‘had a short but good conversation.’

Biden, during his afternoon remarks from the Roosevelt Room at the White House, vowed to ensure the U.S. Secret Service provides Trump with ‘every resource, capability and protective measure necessary to ensure his continued safety.’ 

Biden also said he has ‘directed the head of the Secret Service to review all security measures for all security measures for the Republican National Convention, which is scheduled to start tomorrow.’ 

Biden said he is ‘directing an independent review of the security at yesterday’s rally to assess exactly what happened, and we’ll share the results of that independent review with the American people as well.’ 

The Biden campaign on Saturday night announced it would be pausing all outbound communications and pulling down their campaign ads targeting Trump. The campaign was in the middle of a $50 million ad blitz this month, with spots running in all the key battleground states. 

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Two days before the opening of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, an assassination attempt on former President Donald J. Trump shocked the nation. The picture of a bloodied Trump pumping his fist in the air as Secret Service agents rush him off the stage will be indelibly burned into American minds for a very long time. 

President Trump’s comments on Truth Social the evening of the shooting were calm and thoughtful, thanking the Secret Service and law enforcement, and extending condolences to the families of a rally attendee who was killed and the others who were seriously injured. 

In a chilling account he wrote, ‘I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear. I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin.’ He had nothing else to say except for a heartfelt, ‘GOD BLESS AMERICA!’

I spoke to President Trump on the phone on Sunday, and he told me that bringing the country together was a big part of the message he wanted to deliver now. He mentioned throwing out ‘a tough speech on Democrats,’ reworking it to fit his new intention. 

The last time we faced such a terrifying picture was in 1981, when a gunman tried to assassinate President Reagan. Jerry Parr, the Secret Service agent who shoved Reagan into the car to get him out of danger before he even knew he was injured, once said that being president is dangerous. That would include former presidents. But does it have to be that way? 

What do we do with our sense of horror? A lesson about that comes from our former first lady Melania Trump. By way of comparison with Mrs. Trump, I couldn’t help thinking about Jackie Kennedy in her blood-soaked pink suit the day JFK was assassinated some 60 years ago. Various people, including Lyndon Johnson, encouraged her to change into clean clothes, but she refused. She said, ‘Let them see what they’ve done!’

That anger and desire for retribution is a natural response, but I was struck by the way Mrs. Trump set a tone that was both deeply personal and healing for the nation. 

She began with a moving account of her horror and sorrow. ‘When I watched that violent bullet strike my husband, Donald, I realized my life, and Barron’s life were on the brink of devastating change. I am grateful to the brave Secret Service agents and law enforcement officials who risked their own lives to protect my husband… 

‘A monster who recognized my husband as an inhuman political machine attempted to ring out Donald’s passion—his laughter, ingenuity, love of music, and inspiration. The core facets of my husband’s life—his human side—were buried below the political machine. Donald, the generous and caring man who I have been with through the best of times and the worst of times.’

But then Mrs. Trump pivoted to what we shared as human beings and as a people—and our joint obligation to rise above our political differences. 

‘Let us not forget that differing opinions, policy, and political games are inferior to love. Our personal, structural, and life commitment – until death – is at serious risk. Political concepts are simple when compared to us, human beings…

‘This morning, ascend above the hate, the vitriol, and the simple-minded ideas that ignite violence. We all want a world where respect is paramount, family is first, and love transcends. We can realize this world again. Each of us must demand to get it back. We must insist that respect fills the cornerstone of our relationships, again.’

I applaud Mrs. Trump’s dignity and her sense of public responsibility. Many others from both sides of the political frontier have expressed a similar desire.

In a Saturday evening editorial, even as the assassination attempt was fresh and emotions were still raw, the Wall Street Journal posed the possibility that the incident could be ‘a redemptive political moment.’ While commending President Trump for his ‘fortitude,’ the Journal urged him to use the moment as a time to call for unity. 

‘His opportunity now is to present himself as someone who can rise above the attack on his life and unite the country,’ the Journal wrote. 

The editors also warned both parties to stop describing the stakes of the election in apocalyptic terms. ‘Democracy won’t end if one or the other candidate is elected. Fascism is not aborning if Mr. Trump wins, unless you have little faith in American institutions.’ 

This point was also expressed by former Attorney General Bill Barr who called upon Democrats to stop referring to President Trump as an existential threat to democracy—a claim he called ‘grossly irresponsible.’

It was like a hard jolt to our public consciousness—a wakeup call that asked, ‘What are we doing here?’ 

There has been so much vitriol and demonization in our public debate, and we may have reached a tipping point, when people are finally willing to rein it in. Many voices from both sides of the aisle are echoing that plea. 

Speaking Saturday night, President Biden called the attack ‘sick,’ and stated, ‘There’s no place in America for this kind of violence.’ 

He repeated that message Sunday afternoon, emphasizing, ‘Unity is the most elusive goal of all, but nothing is as important as that right now…We’ll debate and we’ll disagree, but we’re not going to lose sight of who we are as Americans.’ 

President Trump sent a message on Truth Social after Biden’s comments, saying simply, ‘UNITE AMERICA.’

Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called the shooting ‘a despicable attack on a peaceful rally,’ also stressing, ‘Violence has no place in our politics.’

These calls for unity echo what I hear every week on my ‘Common Ground’ podcast as I host public officials from both sides of the aisle respectfully debating their differences. But now we are all facing together the question: What would it mean to back up these calls for unity with real action—to make them more than a post-trauma response that pays lip service to the need to come together? 

Is there a way to restore civility even as we fiercely debate different positions on the issues? 

This is a critical moment when we have the choice to do that. As we move into the political convention period with the opening of the Republican Convention on Monday, we can all use that strong reality check from Melania Trump and heed her call to ‘ascend above the hate.’

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The 43rd Republican National Convention kicks off Monday. Since the first, in 1856 at a concert hall in Philadelphia, the Grand Old Party has picked the winner 24 times. Delegates are bullish this year will mark the 25th.

Their confidence and unity entering the big week contrasted sharply with the party of the sitting president even before Saturday’s deadly assassination attempt. By Monday morning, even those Republicans on the fence over the Democrats’ lawfare against Donald Trump will be prepared to crawl over broken glass for their man. A mountain-cry away sit the Democrats, who begin the week afraid, angry, suspicious and unsure about what the summer will bring.

President Joe Biden was supposed to be the man. While his age and stamina were issues on the 2020 primary trail, Democrat leaders had seen in the former vice president a safe alternative to the radicalism gripping his fellow candidates. These party officers, led by Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), rallied black and southern voters to the man primary voters in Iowa and New Hampshire had rejected, winning a string of victories from South Carolina on, and sealing the job for the oldest nominee in major party history.

All that mattered was beating then-President Donald Trump. No one was thinking four years down the road. Well, four years down the road, they’re paying for it.

When Biden took the stage two hours late Friday night to talk about NATO, dozens of House and Senate Republicans had statements calling for his withdrawal ready to fly. While he mixed up names, sank into his strange stage whisper a couple of times, and yelled like an angry old man a few others, his command of the details and ability to hold court with reporters for a full hour held the onslaught at bay. Elected Democrats watching from their airplane rides back to their home states weren’t elated, however. Many would have preferred a decisive disaster — and the certainty that ‘Joe must go’ it would bring.

Instead, barring a rumored surprise announcement during the president’s Monday trip to Austin, the party rebellion continues in guerrilla form, planned on Signal threads and fought through polls, leaks, and anonymous quotes. While the chatter suggests the resistance has finally begun to come to grips with the reality that Vice President Kamala Harris is the only workable replacement, there’s little chance Democrats return from their week’s vacation with an actual plan of action.

 … barring a rumored surprise announcement during the president’s Monday trip to Austin, the party rebellion continues in guerrilla form, planned on Signal threads and fought through polls, leaks, and anonymous quotes. 

It’s difficult to imagine this chaotic scene contrasting more vividly than it does with the Republicans in Milwaukee.

That’s not to say there haven’t been hiccups. No nominee since then-President Richard Nixon in 1972 has exercised such imperial control of the platform process as Trump has. Party delegates were vetted for loyalty before they met last week, and once on site, were forced to surrender their phones while the campaign brushed away subcommittees and amendments to create a dramatically shortened platform, personally edited by Trump to reflect his political preferences.

While there’s much for conservatives to cheer in the new, shortened platform, the process and the loyalists were abused — and decades-old planks defending traditional marriage and the sanctity of life were erased or watered down. Any looming threat of a convention conflict was snubbed on a field in Pennsylvania on Saturday, however. The image of the former president raising his fist, his face splattered with blood and his lips curled in defiance, calling for his supporters to ‘Fight!’ will dominate everything. Nothing brings a family together like the proximity of death and the realization that we’re all in this together. A party is no different.

Even before the rally in Pennsylvania, there wasno comparison to the last time tens of thousands of Republican faithful met in person — in Cleveland, Ohio eight years prior. Then, the D.C. rumor mills swirled with ridiculous plots to somehow replace the insurgent nominee before it was too late. This nerdy convention-coup fantasy crested with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s call for delegates to ‘vote your conscience.’ He was loudly booed, and the rest is history. There will be no such plotting this year.

It’s been more than half a century since the parties entered the summer with more different optics than 2024. You have to go back to 1968, when Democrats last held their convention in Chicago. While Republicans confidently nominated former Vice President Richard Nixon in Miami Beach, the story was different for the incumbents. The year had begun with a deeply unpopular president, Lyndon B. Johnson, declining to run for re-election after an unexpected near loss in the New Hampshire primary. In the ensuing months, young Robert F. Kennedy was gunned down after winning the major California primary. His brother had been assassinated just a few years prior. Both men had died on TV.

In the closing days of August, the bloody smell from the nearby stockyards hung over the International Amphitheater where Democrat delegates rejected the preferences of their anti-war primary voters, and nominated Vice President Hubert Humphrey, despite his never having even entered a state primary. Outside, hippy rioters raged against the police and the Vietnam War and the Democrat Party in general. Democrat Mayor Bill Daley didn’t flinch to order the mounted police into the fray, cracking heads amid the tear gas and television cameras. In the TV studios, playwright Gore Vidal and and National Review’s Bill Buckley nearly came to blows, as an incensed Buckley sneered invectives at a drunken, smirking Vidal. The ratings were killer, and TV political debate was born. All in all: Peak experience.

Will the Democrats relive the past this August in the Windy City? They’re asking for it in their actions, and tempting the fates with their chosen city.We’ve now seen images reminiscent of the violent ‘60s no our television screens. You can make your wagers we’re in for another chaotic summer on the campaign trail.

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The FBI announced Sunday it is investigating the assassination attempt on former President Trump as a potential act of terrorism.

In a press conference just one day after the attempt on the former president’s life, Robert Wells, the assistant director of the Counterterrorism Division at the FBI, announced that the agency is using ‘every resource that we have at our disposal.’

‘We have a 24/7 command post in Pittsburgh as well as here at FBI headquarters and we are dedicating every resource that we have at our disposal,’ he said. 

‘Our number one goal here is to identify the motive of the subject and determine whether he had any other associates or anyone else that was involved at this point,’ Wells said.

Wells said that the federal agency, which identified the gunman as Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, believes that the 20-year-old was a ‘lone actor.’

‘It appears that he was a lone actor, but we still have more investigation to go,’ he said. ‘We are investigating this as an assassination attempt, but also looking at it as a potential domestic terrorism act.’

‘Our counterterrorism division and our criminal division are working jointly to determine the motive,’ he said.

Kevin Rojek, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh Division, said that there are no active public safety concerns.

‘At this time, the information that we have indicates that the shooter acted alone and that there are currently no public safety concerns at present,’ Rojek said. ‘We have not identified an ideology associated with the subject, but I want to remind everyone that we’re still very early in this investigation.’

‘We are working hard to determine the sequence of events related to the subject and his movements, and the hours and days and weeks prior to the shooting, and we are following all investigative leads,’ he said.

The shooting began shortly after Trump took the stage at about 6 p.m. Saturday. 

Several loud pops could be heard and a bloodied Trump was whisked from the stage, but not before pumping his fist toward the crowd.

Following the shooting, the Trump campaign confirmed that the president was ‘fine.’

On Saturday evening, Trump was released from the hospital after being examined. He is expected at the Republican National Committee in Milwaukee this week, where he will receive the Republican Party’s formal nomination for president.

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President Biden said Sunday that ‘an assassination attempt is contrary to everything we stand for as a nation,’ after former President Trump narrowly survived an attempt at his life at his rally, vowing to ensure the U.S. Secret Service provides him with ‘every resource, capability and protective measure necessary to ensure his continued safety.’ 

Biden spoke from the Roosevelt Room at the White House. He is expected to address the nation Sunday night from the Oval Office. 

‘Last night, I spoke with Donald Trump. I’m sincerely grateful that he’s doing well and recovering. We had a short but good conversation. Jill and I are keeping him and his family in our prayers,’ Biden said. ‘We also extend our deepest condolences to the family of the victim who was killed. He was a father. He was protecting his family from. The bullets are being fired. He lost his life. God love him.’ 

He added: ‘We’re also praying for the full recovery of those who were injured. And we’re grateful to the Secret Service agents and other law enforcement agencies and individuals who risked their lives literally for our nation.’ 

During his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday, former President Trump was shot as multiple shots were fired towards the stage from an elevated position outside of the rally venue. The bullet pierced the upper part of his right ear. The former president was rushed from the stage by Secret Service. 

The would-be assassin was identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks.  Crooks 

One spectator was killed—Corey Comperatore, a former fire chief in Buffalo Township, Pa. Comperatore was shot and killed, as he shielded his wife and daughters from the bullets. 

Authorities say two others were critically injured in the attack. 

The FBI is investigating the shooting as an assassination attempt. 

‘As I said last night, there is no place in America for this kind of violence or any violence for that matter. An assassination attempt is contrary to everything we stand for it as a nation. Everything,’ Biden said. ‘It’s not who we are as a nation. It’s not America. And we cannot allow this to happen.’ 

Biden said that ‘unity is the most elusive goal of all, but nothing is important than that right now.’ 

‘Unity will debate and we’ll disagree. It’s not that’s not going to change, but it’s going to we’re going to not lose sight of who we are as Americans,’ Biden said. 

Biden and Vice President Harris were briefed in the Situation Room by the Homeland Security team, ‘including the director of the FBI, the secretary of Homeland Security, the attorney general, the director of the Secret Service, my Homeland Security advisor, the National Security advisor. And we’re going to continue to be briefed.’ 

Biden stressed that the FBI is leading the investigation and said it is ‘still in its early stages.’ 

‘We don’t yet have any information about the motive of the shooter. We know who he is,’ Biden said, while adding: ‘I urge everyone, everyone, please don’t make assumptions about his motives or affiliations.’ 

‘Let the FBI do their job and their partner agencies do their job. I’m instructed that this investigation be thorough and swift, and the investigators will have every resource they need to get this done,’ Biden said. 

Biden said that Trump, a former president and nominee of the Republican Party, ‘already received the heightened level of security.’ 

‘And I’ve been consistent in, in my direction of the Secret Service to provide him with every resource, capability and protective measure necessary to ensure his continued safety,’ Biden said. 

Biden also said he has ‘directed the head of the Secret Service to review all security measures for all security measures for the Republican National Convention, which is scheduled to start tomorrow.’ 

Biden also said he is ‘directing an independent review of the security at yesterday’s rally to assess exactly what happened, and we’ll share the results of that independent review with the American people as well.’ 

The president said he will speak further Sunday night. 

‘We must unite as one nation. We must unite as one nation to demonstrate who we are,’ he said. 

Biden’s speech Sunday came after he and Vice President Kamala Harris were briefed in the White House Situation Room from homeland security and law enforcement officials. 

Biden called former President Trump after the attempt on Trump’s life Saturday night. The White House described that call as ‘good, short and respectful.’ 

Biden, on Saturday night, condemned the shooting and called the assassination attempt of a former president and presidential candidate ‘sick.’

The Biden campaign on Saturday night announced it would be pausing all outbound communications and pulling down their campaign ads targeting Trump. The campaign was in the middle of a $50 million ad blitz this month, with spots running in all of the key battleground states. 

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(TheNewswire)

Edmonton, Alberta July 16, 2024 TheNewswire Bitcoin Well Inc. (‘ Bitcoin Well ‘ or the ‘ Company ‘) ( TSXV: BTCW; OTCQB: BCNWF ), the non-custodial bitcoin business on a mission to enable independence announces the ability for customers in Canada to pay their household bills and credit cards with bitcoin on the Lightning Network, as well as the achievement of 21,000 unique users signed up to the Bitcoin Portal.

Bill payments via bitcoin on the Lightning Network

Available immediately, all customers in Canada can pay their household bills and credit cards with bitcoin from their personal bitcoin wallets on the main Bitcoin blockchain or via the Lightning Network. This feature is available immediately at bitcoinwell.com/app.

Enabling customers to pay their bills and credit cards with bitcoin on the Lightning Network offers a cheaper and faster alternative to using bitcoin on the main chain, while allowing customers to still maintain the security of self custody.

‘A Bitcoin Well customer in Canada can now effectively live on a Bitcoin Standard,’ said Adam O’Brien, Founder and CEO of the Company. ‘We are making it cheaper and easier to use bitcoin in self custody as we continue to fulfil our mission of enabling independence.’


Click Image To View Full Size

Unique user sign ups

In July the Company surpassed 21,000 unique user signups on the Bitcoin portal. This is the result after over 5,300 unique user signups in Q2.

The Company’s Q2 unique user signups set a record for the most users signed up in a single quarter, with the previous record being set in Q1 of 2024.

About Bitcoin Well

Bitcoin Well is on a mission to enable independence. We do this by making bitcoin useful to everyday people to give them the convenience of modern banking and the benefits of bitcoin. We like to think of it as future-proofing money. Our existing Bitcoin ATM and Online Bitcoin Portal business units drive cash flow to help fund this mission.

Join our investor community and follow us on Nostr , , and to keep up to date with our business.

Bitcoin Well contact information

To book a virtual meeting with our Founder & CEO Adam O’Brien please use the following link: https://bitcoinwell.com/meet-adam

For additional investor & media information, please contact:

Adam O’Brien

Tel: 1 888 711 3866

ir@bitcoinwell.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release .

Forward-looking information

Certain statements contained in this news release may constitute forward-looking information, which is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as ‘anticipate’, ‘plan’, ‘estimate’, ‘expect’, ‘may’, ‘will’, ‘intend’, ‘should’, or the negative thereof and similar expressions. All statements herein other than statements of historical fact constitute forward-looking information including, but not limited to, statements in respect of Bitcoin Well’s business plans, strategy and outlook. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information including, but not limited to, the risk factors described in Bitcoin Well’s annual information form and management’s discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2023. Forward-looking information should not be unduly relied upon. Any forward-looking information contained in this news release represents Bitcoin Well’s expectations as of the date hereof and is subject to change. Bitcoin Well disclaims any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking information, except as required by applicable securities legislation.

Copyright (c) 2024 TheNewswire – All rights reserved.

News Provided by TheNewsWire via QuoteMedia

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

(TheNewswire)

Edmonton, Alberta July 16, 2024 TheNewswire Bitcoin Well Inc. (‘ Bitcoin Well ‘ or the ‘ Company ‘) ( TSXV: BTCW; OTCQB: BCNWF ), the non-custodial bitcoin business on a mission to enable independence announces the ability for customers in Canada to pay their household bills and credit cards with bitcoin on the Lightning Network, as well as the achievement of 21,000 unique users signed up to the Bitcoin Portal.

Bill payments via bitcoin on the Lightning Network

Available immediately, all customers in Canada can pay their household bills and credit cards with bitcoin from their personal bitcoin wallets on the main Bitcoin blockchain or via the Lightning Network. This feature is available immediately at bitcoinwell.com/app.

Enabling customers to pay their bills and credit cards with bitcoin on the Lightning Network offers a cheaper and faster alternative to using bitcoin on the main chain, while allowing customers to still maintain the security of self custody.

‘A Bitcoin Well customer in Canada can now effectively live on a Bitcoin Standard,’ said Adam O’Brien, Founder and CEO of the Company. ‘We are making it cheaper and easier to use bitcoin in self custody as we continue to fulfil our mission of enabling independence.’


Click Image To View Full Size

Unique user sign ups

In July the Company surpassed 21,000 unique user signups on the Bitcoin portal. This is the result after over 5,300 unique user signups in Q2.

The Company’s Q2 unique user signups set a record for the most users signed up in a single quarter, with the previous record being set in Q1 of 2024.

About Bitcoin Well

Bitcoin Well is on a mission to enable independence. We do this by making bitcoin useful to everyday people to give them the convenience of modern banking and the benefits of bitcoin. We like to think of it as future-proofing money. Our existing Bitcoin ATM and Online Bitcoin Portal business units drive cash flow to help fund this mission.

Join our investor community and follow us on Nostr , , and to keep up to date with our business.

Bitcoin Well contact information

To book a virtual meeting with our Founder & CEO Adam O’Brien please use the following link: https://bitcoinwell.com/meet-adam

For additional investor & media information, please contact:

Adam O’Brien

Tel: 1 888 711 3866

ir@bitcoinwell.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release .

Forward-looking information

Certain statements contained in this news release may constitute forward-looking information, which is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as ‘anticipate’, ‘plan’, ‘estimate’, ‘expect’, ‘may’, ‘will’, ‘intend’, ‘should’, or the negative thereof and similar expressions. All statements herein other than statements of historical fact constitute forward-looking information including, but not limited to, statements in respect of Bitcoin Well’s business plans, strategy and outlook. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information including, but not limited to, the risk factors described in Bitcoin Well’s annual information form and management’s discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2023. Forward-looking information should not be unduly relied upon. Any forward-looking information contained in this news release represents Bitcoin Well’s expectations as of the date hereof and is subject to change. Bitcoin Well disclaims any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking information, except as required by applicable securities legislation.

Copyright (c) 2024 TheNewswire – All rights reserved.

News Provided by TheNewsWire via QuoteMedia

This post appeared first on investingnews.com