US State Department condemns assassination attempt of Trump at Pennsylvania rally

By Rabia Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - The US State Department on Monday condemned the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump as he was holding a campaign rally in the state of Pennsylvania this weekend.

"We condemn this attack and all political violence strongly and unequivocally, just as we condemn political violence in any country," Spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.

"We know today that people around the world, governments around the world have questions about what happened on Saturday, just as Americans do. And our message to them is simple. As President Biden has made clear, there is no place for violence in our democracy, period," Miller said.

The spokesman also said Secretary of State Antony Blinken convened his senior leadership team to ask them to remind their teams and US allies and partners that "America has faced trying times before, but that we have emerged from them stronger because of our core values that we share as a nation".

Trump was shot at during a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday. The gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was shot and killed by the Secret Service at the venue.

The FBI has announced it is investigating the shooting as a "potential domestic terrorism act."