Misleading posts claim RNC misspelled slain fire chief's name on jacket
- Published on July 22, 2024 at 22:50
- 3 min read
- By Daniel GALGANO, AFP USA
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"That magat firefighter Corey Comperatore died, only to become a prop at the #rnc…and they couldn't even be bothered to spell the man's name correctly," says a July 18, 2024 post on X.
Similar claims have circulated elsewhere on X, Facebook, Threads and TikTok.
Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, opened fire on Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania and killed Comperatore, a 50-year-old firefighter and father of two, who died shielding his family from the gunshots. Two other audience members, David Dutch and James Copenhaver, were also injured, according to Pennsylvania State Police.
On the final night of the Republican National Convention, Trump made a 90-minute speech accepting the party's presidential nomination next to Comperatore's firefighter jacket and helmet, which was brought out by an honor guard. Trump described Comperatore and the other injured bystanders as "warriors," before kissing the former fire chief's helmet.
However, the Convention's planners did not produce a replica uniform with the Comperatore's misspelled -- the jacket had "Compertore" printed on the back before the Republican National Convention.
The day after the shooting, the fire department posted an image on Facebook of Comperatore's jacket that contained the same spelling error (archived here).
In response to questions around the differences in the name spelling, the Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Company commented on the post that Comperatore had been aware of the misspelling but opted not to correct it.
"The spelling on his jacket was in error years ago and it was left that way by Corey," one comment says.
"Corey did not change it and we will keep it as it was. I understand it may seem confusing but that was Corey's choice to change it and he didn't."
AFP reached out to the Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Company for further comment, but a response was not forthcoming.
A spokesperson for the Republican Party pointed AFP to additional reporting that said the misspelling was the result of Comperatore's 11-letter name being too long to fit on the jacket, while declined to comment further.
AFP has debunked other claims about Donald Trump here.
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