Houston County leaders react after attempted Trump assassination

Last weekend, an attempted assassination at a rally in Pennsylvania sparked conversation amid this year’s upcoming presidential election.

According to the Associated Press, Saturday, July 13, at former President Donald Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, shots rang out from a nearby rooftop, grazing Trump’s right ear. The shooting killed a spectator, 50-year-old firefighter Corey Comperatore, and left two seriously wounded. 

The shooter, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Crooks, was killed by a Secret Service counter-sniper within 15 seconds of the shooting, the Associated Press reported.

Amid the voices in support and against the presidential nominee, several local leaders weighed in on Trump’s attempted assassination and the nation’s current political climate through comments during council meetings and statements sent to The Journal.

Georgia House Reps. Shaw Blackmon and Bethany Ballard called for unity in light of the violent incident.

“Sadly, evil exists, and our prayers are with all those impacted. As public servants, we are responsible for ceaselessly promoting the ideas and values we hold sacred, but we must also heed the greatest of commandments, to treat others as we would like to be treated, disagreeing with dignity and respect. To love America is to also love Americans,” Blackmon said.

“I’m grateful that President Trump is safe. I’m praying for him and the other victims of this reprehensible attack. Our nation must be completely and totally united in condemning political violence in our country,” Ballard said.

Houston County Commissioner Chairman Dan Perdue was also praying for those involved and hopeful for unity.

“Over the last few days, I’ve prayed for our great nation, for the family of Corey Comperatore, for the injured victims and those caring for them, for President Trump, for all those running for political office, and for my attitude and perspective. Throughout our country’s history, we’ve turned to God in times of darkness. We’ve asked for His counsel and placed trust in Him over man, and He has always restored our hope and delivered us from evil.

“Our natural response to threat or tragedy is to become insular and turn inward. However, we should strive to be open, honest, trusting, and compassionate. I hope that the temperature and tone of our conversations and rhetoric regarding political contests de-escalate and that we reflect the wishes of our founding fathers for ‘a more perfect Union,’” Perdue said.

During the city of Perry council meeting invocation on July 16, Councilmember Dan Peterson expressed gratitude for Trump’s protection and thanked God for His hand in protecting the community.

“We pray that You are good and You are sovereign: sovereign over these proceedings tonight, sovereign over our city, over our nation, indeed, over all creation. We thank You so much for the protection of President Trump in our nation this weekend. We stop to praise You: that You have all our concern for our welfare, for the welfare of our city, for every resident, for every business owner, for every visitor that comes here,” Peterson said.

During Warner Robins’ council meeting on July 15, Councilman Keith Lauritsen reflected on the shooting and the city’s political climate.

“[I’m] just thankful that [in] our community, I can’t think of a single time where there’s been any political rhetoric, and I’m just thankful for that. Because I think we do care about each other. We love each other and want what’s best for each other, because we want what’s best for our community. 

“It’s my prayer that [this] trickles up to our state officials, to our national officials. Because this is the way to do business. It’s not the way that we currently do things on a national level. That’s not the best way. I just want to encourage everyone to think about that. 

“Everybody’s calling for us to tone it down and stop the hateful rhetoric. We certainly need to do that. But we can’t just do it for a couple of weeks or a couple of days; We have to be committed to this over a long period of time. If we don’t, we’re going to lose our country. 

“I don’t care who the president is or who’s at the Senate. If we don’t stop this, we’re going to lose our country. It’s my prayer that we can consider that and consider what’s at stake for everyone,” Lauritsen said.

Also in Warner Robins, Councilman Charlie Bibb hopes the public can find common ground caring for each other.

“I know in a world today, it seems like people are trying to divide us. And I hope those that recognize that, and see that in the world would know that we are motivated by love. God is love and when you have the power of God in your life, you want to spread that love and that is the most important thing that we can do,” Bibb said.

Bibb continued, saying difficult moments are a chance to become formidable and more united locally:

“We have [hard moments] so we can continue on with each other. We can continue to love each other. We continue to move forward in that relationship to make us stronger, and make us more powerful. We learn from those moments, and we gain wisdom from those moments to carry us on. 

“This weekend kind of rocked my world a little bit just to see how much hatred that has been out there in all aspects of life. I don’t want a person to spread hatred. I want to be a person to spread love and spread love in my community, for all of us to do the right thing, even when we disagree, even [when] we don’t see eye-to-eye on things. We come from different aspects of life and see things differently. 

“We can still take that and put it together and make us stronger in Warner Robins, Georgia. I love my city. I love the people that I serve. I love where I’m at and I want to continue to see our community be a community of love.”