The MAGA influencer who was a front-row witness to the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania, explained to RedState in an exclusive interview at the Republican National Convention why he posted his own videos of the shooting at the rally.
“I knew I had it,” said the influencer, known as Brick Suit said. “I haven’t looked at it since I shot it.”
The MAGA influencer said he always knew there could be an attempt to overthrow the president.
“At some point you realize that’s always a possibility. I didn’t think I’d live to see it,” he said. “It just opened the chapter where it’s a reality. I know that the political forces opposing President Trump are widespread and diverse. Some of them are unconventional and would do just about anything to prevent him from becoming president again.”
“President Trump’s rally in Butler PA, which I filmed from the front row immediately after the assassination attempt on President Trump,” he tweeted. “I wasn’t ready to post this until today.”
President Trump’s rally in Butler PA, which I filmed from the front row immediately after the assassination attempt on President Trump.
I was only ready to post this today. pic.twitter.com/9CUFwOvY1s— Brick Suit (@Brick_Suit) July 17, 2024
The video is harrowing because it captures the madness that followed the president’s shooting, the screams in the stands and the rehearsed choreography of Secret Service agents straining their bodies to protect Trump without worrying about their own lives.
Please read my RedState interview with Brick Suit about his own experiences at the Butler Trump rally less than 30 minutes after the shooting stopped:
Exclusive: Brick Suit has a front row seat to Trump’s shooting
Less than twenty minutes after Trump began his speech on a stage in front of three grandstands at the Butler Farm Show fairgrounds, Thomas Matthew Crooks is said to have fired eight shots from his military-style AR-15 long gun.
One of the bullets pierced the president’s right ear, causing Trump to fall to the ground, clench his fist, and jump back up. Secret Service agents dragged him into his black SUV for the ride to the local hospital.
Brick Suit, who wears a suit and tie with a brick wall pattern, said he put everything aside until he saw someone posted a video of Trump arriving at the hospital emergency room. He felt it was OK to tell people what he had.
“I didn’t want to watch it yet,” said the veteran of about 40 Trump rallies. “I saw a clip taken by someone in the emergency room of a hospital when the president’s motorcade arrived.”
The influencer, who often mentions Trump by name at rallies and calls him out on stage, said the tortured voice heard in the hospital reflected what people were feeling at the rally.
“You could hear the concern in people’s voices when someone found out he had been shot in the head and they didn’t know what to expect, and the relief when they saw him walk away,” he said. “After seeing that clip, I thought, OK, if I can handle this, I might as well look at my footage and see what I actually have on my camera.”
Brick Suit, who traveled to the meeting from his home in California, wasn’t sure how much his video added to his understanding of what happened, but said it would be better if more information was available.
“I don’t think it reveals anything, any details that haven’t been seen before,” he said. “It’s not particularly newsworthy because there are other cameras that have captured the same footage, but my vantage point is unique and I was so close that maybe that alone makes it worth posting.”
When media outlets asked him for permission to operate the video, he refused, posting at one point in an X-post: “Dear news services offering me money for this video, please piss off.”
This X-Post shows part of his exchange with the CBS News journalist Finn Gomez:
Dear news services that offer me money for this video,
Please fuck off. pic.twitter.com/GCsVaV2ZEa— Brick Suit (@Brick_Suit) July 18, 2024
“I just wanted to get it out there because the footage is out there now and I don’t have to worry about when I’m going to watch it,” Brick Suit said. “I think it’s a positive for me that I can put that experience behind me and actually deal with it now.”
A week later, he said he still couldn’t finish publishing his video. “We’re on our way there.”
Brick Suit said he also couldn’t understand how witnessing an assassination attempt on Trump changed his view of politics.
“I don’t think politics was ever a game for me, even if I’m a bit weird about it – you can’t judge a brick by its shell.”
