Massachusetts and New Hampshire officials are condemning political violence and calling for calm after the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally.
Trump was rushed off the stage Saturday after a bullet grazed his ear in what authorities described as an apparent assassination attempt. One spectator was killed and two others critically injured in the incident, authorities said.
Federal authorities named Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as the suspect. He was shot and killed by authorities. A motive is not yet known.
But the attack stoked fears about increasing violence in the nation’s toxic political system ahead of an already divisive presidential election, with Trump locked in a neck-and-neck race for the White House against incumbent Democratic President Joe Biden.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey condemned the attack, praised law enforcement for its “swift response,” and said she was “relieved” the former president is safe.
“Political violence has no place in this country, and all Americans must condemn it,” the Democrat said in a statement.
Senate President Karen Spilka, D-Ashland, and Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, issued a joint statement, saying they “grieve for the families affected by Saturday’s tragedy and condemn those who would seek to use violence to further their political goals.”
“While we may disagree on many things, we are deeply committed to this country’s ideals of settling those disagreements through public participation, debate, and respect for our colleagues regardless of their affiliation,” they said.
Members of Massachusetts’s all-Democratic congressional delegation also denounced the violence and appealed for calm.
“It doesn’t matter how much we might disagree in politics, violence is never acceptable,” Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Salem, said in a statement. “This is a polarized time, but we’re stronger when we’re united, not divided.”
New Hampshire’s political leaders also voiced their outrage and appealed for calm in the November elections.
“Political violence of any kind is never acceptable,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., said in a statement. “I’m appreciative of the quick efforts of law enforcement and hope the former President and anyone else injured today recovers fully.”
Republican Gov. Chris Sununu echoed those sentiments on social media, saying in a statement that “violence of any form has no place in America” and wishing Trump a “speedy recovery” from his injuries.
The assassination attempt on Trump was the first instance of a president or presidential candidate being targeted with violence since President Ronald Reagan survived a shooting in 1981.
Biden used a rare White House address Sunday to condemn violence and pleaded with Americans to cool the political rhetoric ahead of the November elections, citing the attempt on Trump and other recent incidents involving elected officials.
“A former president was shot. An American citizen was killed while simply exercising his freedom to support the candidate of his choosing. We cannot, we must not go down this road in America,” the Democrat said. “We’ve traveled it before throughout history. Violence has never been the answer.”
Trump arrived Sunday in Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention, where he is expected to accept his party’s formal nomination in a speech later this week.
Delegates from the state’s Republican Party, who are expected to attend the four-day convention, issued a statement wishing Trump a speedy recovery, condemning the violence and calling on Americans “to unify as a nation to condemn this horrible incident.”
“Like every American, we are outraged, horrified and deeply concerned,” MassGOP Chairwoman Amy Carnevale and other party officials said. “Whether Democrat or Republican, despite our differences, we all desire peace and prosperity for our nation.”
Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.