(Ken Silva, Headline USA) A man who filmed key moments of the July 13, 2024, assassination attempt against Donald Trump—and who was briefly suspected of being involved—now faces felony charges for allegedly making terroristic threats.
Dave Stewart, 36, was reportedly charged Thursday with threatening local, state and federal officials, including making a bomb threat directed at the Butler Township police barracks, according to the local newspaper, Butler Eagle. Butler, Pennsylvania is where the assassination attempt took place.
At the time of the shooting, Stewart was employed at a nearby Sheetz gas station, where he had just finished a shift. Stewart captured some of the key moments leading up to the shooting, which took place at 6:11 p.m.
“There’s somebody in this building,” Stewart could be heard saying on his cellphone footage as police surrounded the AGR building trying to track the alleged would-be assassin, Thomas Crooks.
Stewart was himself suspected of being involved in the shooting. A Pennsylvania State Police trooper handcuffed him immediately after the assassination attempt. Stewart was cleared soon thereafter, but he was he the state trooper roughed him up when he was being detained.
“This guy, he just—he came over, he was a hothead, and he just threw me against the car and put me in cuff,” Stewart told a Butler Township officer who uncuffed him some 45 minutes after the shooting.
“You look just like the guy on the roof,” the township officer responded—as heard on police bodycam footage.
“Are you serious?” a stunned Stewart replied.
Stewart told this reporter last year that he left Pennsylvania by the end of July 2024 due to harassment from law enforcement and others. He apparently returned at some point, and is now sitting in Butler County jail due to the newly filed charges.
“Among those threatened were Trump, the White House, Rep. Mike Kelly and state police’s Troop D,” the Butler Eagle reported Thursday.
“Police spoke with Stewart on Wednesday when he was spotted sitting at a table with his laptop at Sheetz … Police said Stewart acknowledged his anger and feelings of mistreatment by law enforcement when later interviewed at the state police Butler barracks,” the newspaper added, citing a police affidavit.
“He justified his posts saying there was nothing done when he felt threatened by law enforcement. Police said Stewart went on to admit to posting the messages and said he shouldn’t have.”
Stewart is being held on $500,000 bail. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for next Thursday.
Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
