Family of Butler SWAT Officer Alleges Federal Agencies Omitted His Role in Saving Trump

Sgt. Aaron Zaliponi of the Adams Township Emergency Service Unit claims federal agencies have minimized his role in stopping the 2024 assassination attempt on President Donald Trump.

Zaliponi fired the ninth shot during the July 13, 2024, rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, which struck Thomas Crooks' rifle and stopped his advance. Kim Geyer, Zaliponi's mother-in-law, told the New York Post that federal officials ignored the local officer's contribution for years.

"The shot neutralized Thomas Crooks," Geyer said. "It prevented a mass shooting. He saved a lot of lives that day."

Official reports state Crooks opened fire at 6:11 p.m. from a shed roof 400 feet from the stage. He fired eight rounds before Zaliponi responded from behind a barn 115 yards away. The bipartisan congressional report found Zaliponi's bullet shattered Crooks' gunstock, sending shrapnel into the assassin's neck and jaw.

A Secret Service sniper fired the final shot 10.05 seconds later, hitting Crooks in the head. The FBI, however, stated it found no forensic evidence that the ninth shot hit Crooks or his rifle. Geyer argued the agencies wanted a simple narrative of federal victory after security failures.

"The Secret Service wanted the credit," Geyer said. "There was no consideration that our local people, who weren't there to protect the president, ended up being the ones that neutralized the threat."

Zaliponi did not attend the October 4, 2024, return rally in Butler, despite working the event. Geyer said he was not invited on stage with other first responders. Trump has since created the Medal of Sacrifice for fallen officers and hosted police events at the White House, but Zaliponi has received no such recognition from the White House.

Local groups, including the NRA and the Pennsylvania attorney general, have honored Zaliponi. The NRA awarded him its 2025 Officer of the Year title. Geyer, a Republican and Butler County commissioner, believes the federal snub stems from embarrassment over the initial security lapse.