HARRISBURG, PA – Joy Ramsingh filed three appeals under Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law on behalf of The Intercept, Scripps News, and NBC News, after Butler County denied their requests for copies of recorded 911 calls relating to the shooting at former President Donald Trump's rally in July 2024.
On July 13, 2024, former President Donald Trump was wounded in an apparent assassination attempt at a campaign rally held in Butler County, PA. The Intercept, Scripps News, and NBC News submitted RTKL requests to Butler County for the recorded 911 calls relating to the shooting.
Butler County officials denied all three outlets' requests for the recorded 911 calls, citing its policy not to release such records without a subpoena or a court order. Butler County failed to exercise the discretion provided to it by the RTKL, which permits the County to release the recordings if “the public interest in disclosure outweighs the interest in nondisclosure.”
“These records can show us what the crowd saw on that day and how long it took law enforcement to respond,” said attorney Joy Ramsingh of Ramsingh Legal. “It’s important for the press to be able to go straight to the source of these authentic public records, instead of obtaining filtered facts through polished statements made by public officials.”
Within 45 days of filing suit, Ramsingh obtained the records.
Read more in NBC News, Scripps News, and the Intercept:
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Applicable ethics rules require us to remind you that prior results do not predict, warrant or guarantee a similar outcome in any future case.
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