Tony Bendele, a social media creator and trained firefighter in Pennsylvania, claimed he resigned his position as a captain in the Sunbury Fire Department on Monday after he expressed disappointment when an attempted assassin failed to kill former President Donald Trump at the Saturday rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
“Too bad it didn’t hit him square,” Bendele reportedly wrote in a now-deleted post to his Facebook page. A photographer, Bendele (pictured above) has more than 20,000 followers on the social media platform.
When his words were deleted, ostensibly for violating the Facebook Community Standards, a screenshot suggests Bendele then complained that “someone reported” his post.
Meet Tony Bendele.
Reportedly, he’s a firefighter in Sunbury, PA.
After the assassination attempt, he wrote on Facebook, “Too bad it didn’t hit him square 🍿”.
When the public saw his despicable comment, he doubled down.
It would be a shame if Pennsylvanians called… pic.twitter.com/d3ZtNY88cc
— ThePersistence (@ScottPresler) July 15, 2024
The Pennsylvania Daily Star contacted the Sunbury Fire Department on Sunday to confirm Bendele’s association with the fire department, ask whether it had a social media policy for its employees or volunteers, and confirm whether Bendele’s posts violated any policy. The fire department did not respond prior to press time.
Bendele confirmed his resignation on Monday in a now-deleted post to his Facebook page, where he claimed to be the victim of threats after his posts about the attempted assassination. He also claimed his initial post was written prior to confirmation Trump’s ear was grazed by a bullet.
“I made a mistake with that simple statement. I own that,” said Bendele. “But to threaten those around me with harm that had no part in this, I can’t do it.“
He apologized to “everyone who is currently affected by this,” and stated he is “ashamed that I’ve brought this to you.”
“I’ve already lost several people extremely close to me.” Bendele added, “I expect to lose more.”
BREAKING: Tony has resigned his position as a firefighter https://t.co/vUhMeE43AL pic.twitter.com/UzbP61czW6
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) July 15, 2024
After Bendele deleted the post, The Star contacted the fire department to confirm Bendele’s departure but did not receive an immediate response.
Federal law enforcement has since confirmed 20-year-old Thomas Crooks opened fire from outside the Trump rally event venue, hitting the former president in the ear and killing one of the president’s supporters in the crowd. Two more were reported injured.
Multiple Republican candidates and elected officials were present at the rally, including U.S. Senate nominee Dave McCormick, who was expected to take the stage prior to the attempted assassination.
Another rally attendee told The Star that McCormick was “definitely in the line of fire” during the assassination attempt, with Crooks firing over the former Trump administration official’s head in order to strike the former president.
McCormick suggested both he and Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) suspend their campaigns’ negative advertising in the wake of the attack.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to pappert.tom@proton.me.
Photo “Tony Bendele” by Tony Bendele.
