A firefighter has resigned after facing a backlash for saying he wished the wannabe assassinator’s bullet had not missed Donald Trump.
In the immediate aftermath of Saturday’s shooting, Tony Bendele, a volunteer firefighter in Sunbury, Pennsylvania, wrote ‘too bad it didn’t hit him square’ with a popcorn emoji.
Bendele’s post was intended for his Facebook friends, but it was shared on X and quickly went viral – sparking fierce repercussions.
The first sign of a social media storm brewing came when Bendele revealed someone had reported his post, alongside some laughing face emojis.
He later shared a screenshot showing Facebook had removed the post because it violated the ‘harassment and bullying’ guidelines.
American firefighter Tony Bendele (pictured) has resigned after facing a backlash for saying he wished the wannabe assassinator’s bullet had not missed Donald Trump
But the post was still visible on X, where it prompted an avalanche of online abuse directed at Bendele and his family.
‘To everyone. Please accept this as my resignation from the firehouse. I can’t do this. This is so beyond anything that should ever be happening,’ Bendele wrote.
‘I have been threatened. My family has been threatened. My friends have been threatened. I have never felt so unsafe in my life.’
Later in the post, Bendele went on to accept that he ‘made a mistake with that simple statement’ about Trump.
‘I’m sorry to everyone who is currently affected by this. I’m ashamed that I’ve brought this to you.
‘I’ve already lost several people extremely close to me. I expect to lose more.’
The post also reportedly led to a bomb threat at the fire department station where Bendele worked, the Americus Hose Company.
Americus President Jerome Alex said the department ‘does not condone violence in any way’, adding that ‘Mr. Bendele is no longer part of the fire company’.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Tony Bendele, a volunteer firefighter in Sunbury, Pennsylvania , wrote ‘too bad it didn’t hit him square’ with a popcorn emoji
Bendele announced his resignation from the fire department in a lengthy Facebook post
Gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, from Bethel Park, PA, fired several rounds from a rooftop during a Trump rally on Saturday including one bullet which struck the former president in the ear
Gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, from Bethel Park, PA, fired several rounds from a rooftop during a Trump rally on Saturday including one bullet which struck the former president in the ear.
It came just days before Trump was to accept the Republican nomination for 2024.
Crooks – a registered Republican who donated $15 to the liberal ActBlue political action committee on Biden’s Inauguration Day in 2021 – killed former fire chief Corey Comperatore, and injured two more people before cops gunned him down.
The Biden administration rushed the president back to the White House from his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware in the immediate aftermath, and he condemned the shooting on X.
