Former President Donald Trump will return Saturday to the very place where a bullet fired by a would-be assassin grazed his head less than three months ago.

Trump was wounded in his right ear during the July 13 assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. One rallygoer, Corey Comperatore, 50, a volunteer firefighter, was killed, and two others were wounded.

A Secret Service countersniper fatally shot the 20-year-old gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, who had sneaked undetected onto the rooftop of a nearby business. The shooting is under investigation and the motive is still unclear months later.

“President Trump’s return to Butler will stand as a tribute to the American spirit,” the Trump campaign said in an email last week. “In America, we do not let monsters like that evil assassin have the last word. Every time our nation is struck by attack or hardship, we rally, we persevere, and we prevail.”

Within two weeks of the shooting, Trump had declared he’d return to Butler, writing on his Truth Social platform the rally would honor “THE SOUL OF OUR BELOVED FIREFIGHTING HERO, COREY, AND THOSE BRAVE PATRIOTS.”

The Trump campaign released a list of more than 60 guests who are scheduled to attend the rally, which begins at 5 p.m. Easter at the Butler Farm Show. They include Comperatore’s wife, two daughters and two sisters, and David Dutch, who was injured in the shooting. James Copenhaver, who was critically wounded but released from the hospital after two weeks, does not appear on the list. However, the campaign said he will be honored, too.

Other guests include vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio; Tesla, X and SpaceX owner Elon Musk; several congressional Republicans; a dozen sheriffs from Pennsylvania counties; Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley; and country singer Lee Greenwood.

The Secret Service came under fire following the assassination attempt, and the scrutiny intensified further after authorities say a second man tried to kill the former president while he was playing golf at his West Palm Beach, Florida, course Sept. 15.

Investigations by the Secret Service and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and congressional testimony by local police officials who were at the July 13 rally have revealed communications gaps between the Secret Service and its law enforcement partners. Those breakdowns included unclear guidance and unshared radio conversations that led to a delayed response to reports about the gunman before he opened fire, the reviews found. Some Secret Service agents were also complacent, acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr. said.

Multiple agents have been placed on leave, according to multiple reports. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, who led the agency at the time of the first assassination attempt, resigned under pressure from Congress.

Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told Spectrum News in a statement Friday the agency on Saturday will again partner with state and local law enforcement agencies and also use federal resources to expand personnel and technology.

Guglielmi said he could not go into detail about security enhancements but added that residents in the area should expect to see an increased presence of law enforcement officers as well as traffic delays and road closures.

President Joe Biden ordered increased protection of Trump after July 13. 

“Today, the former President is receiving heightened protection and we take the responsibility to ensure his safety and security very seriously,” Guglielmi said.

Trump has spoken often about his near-death experience, in which he fell to the stage before being immediately covered by Secret Service agents. The former president then stood up with a bloodied face, raised his right fist in the air and urged his cheering supporters to “fight” as agents whisked him to safety. 

He has credited God with saving his life. 

“As you already know, the assassin’s bullet came within a quarter of an inch of taking my life,” he said during his speech at the Republican National Convention just five days later. “ … I’m not supposed to be here tonight.”

In recent months, Musk, one of Saturday’s rally guests, has emerged as Trump’s highest-profile cheerleader. The Tesla founder posted his endorsement on X, formerly Twitter, less than an hour after the former president was shot. A few days later, Musk announced he would donate $45 million a month to a super political action committee that backs Trump.

Musk did a live audio interview with Trump on X in August and frequently posts pro-Trump and anti-Democratic messages to his 200 million followers on his social media platform.

Trump said last month that if he’s elected, he would create an efficiency commission to audit the federal government and ask Musk to lead it.