By Nina Moske
Tampa Bay Times
TAMPA, Fla. — A Florida lawyer has pledged to donate $1 million to the family of the man killed during an attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally on Saturday.
Orlando attorney and megadonor Dan Newlin said he felt “called upon to help fellow Americans.” He will also give $100,000 to the families of people injured at the rally.
“Democrat, Republican, independent — that had nothing to do with this,” Newlin, 56, said. “It had everything to do with knowing I could help a family while supporting our democracy.”
Trump left the Saturday rally bloodied but “safe” after a bullet pierced his right ear. A gunman fired multiple shots into the crowd from a nearby rooftop before the Secret Service killed him, authorities said.
Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old volunteer firefighter from Pennsylvania who attended the rally with his family, was shot and killed by the gunman. Two other attendees, David Dutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74, were wounded and are in stable condition.
Newlin said Meredith O’Rourke, Trump’s campaign finance director, called early Sunday morning to ask for help raising $1 million for the victim’s family. Newlin has donated money to Trump’s campaign and Republican super PACs in the past and said he considers the candidate a “friend.”
“Tell the president, ‘Don’t worry about anything, I’ll take care of it,’” he said he told O’Rourke on the phone call. “‘You can count on me to give the million dollars.’”
Newlin said he plans to meet Comperatore’s family in Pennsylvania and deliver the money in person.
“I’m not one to just write a check,” said the lawyer, who said he often donates to charities around Florida. “One of the greatest parts of giving is being able to connect.”
Newlin has donated millions of dollars to Republican and Democratic political causes since 2003, according to Federal Election Commission data. He gave more than $2,500 to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign.
But since 2023, the lawyer’s contributions have leaned right. He gave $1 million to Make America Great Again, a Trump-aligned super PAC, last year. Trump also raised more than $8 million at a campaign fundraiser held at Newlin’s Windermere home in April. Newlin has cited immigration and border issues as reasons for his support of Trump.
Earlier this month, the lawyer launched what he said was a “million dollar plus” campaign to place more than 100 electronic billboards promoting Trump in Florida, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Nevada. The signs, displayed along Interstate 4, feature taglines including ”Putting American Families First” and “Make America Safe Again!”
O’Rourke, a longtime Florida GOP fundraiser, also organized a GoFundMe page for the families of deceased and injured victims that has raised more than $4.9 million as of Tuesday.
Billionaires Elon Musk and Ken Griffin donated $100,000 each.
Top contributions from state leaders include $50,000 from Sen. Rick Scott and his wife, Ann, and $10,000 from Florida’s agriculture commissioner, Wilton Simpson.
“All donations will be directed to these proud Americans as they grieve and recover,” wrote O’Rourke on the fundraising platform. “May God bless and unite our nation.”
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