Who is Dan Newlin? Florida attorney donates $1 million donation to Trump shooting victims

Onstage at the 2024 Republican National Convention, when former President Donald Trump described for the first time his near brush with death in Saturday's assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania that left Trump and two spectators wounded and one man dead, he also took time to praise the fallen and injured and thank supporters for their outpouring of love.

Corey Comperatore, a volunteer firefighter was killed while attempting to shield his wife and two daughters. His uniform and helmet were brought out on stage, where Trump embraced them. James Copenhaver of Moon Township and David Dutch of New Kensington were critically wounded but were both in stable condition as of Monday.

Trump also mentioned the GoFundMe for the victims and their families, which as of Thursday evening is up to $5.4 million. The original goal was $1 million, which was easily passed early Monday morning. But not all the donations were counted there.

"I am very proud to say that over the past few days we've raised 6.3 million dollars for the families of David, James and Corey," Trump said, pulling a check from his coat pocket. "including, from a friend of mine, just called up, sent me a check, right here, I just got it. One million dollars, from Dan Newlin, thank you Dan."

Who is Dan Newlin?

If you've driven around Florida, you've seen the billboards. Happy people telling you how much they won in court, with a "Thank you Dan!"

Orlando attorney Dan Newlin, 50, of Dan Newlin Injury Attorneys has previously donated to Trump's campaign and said he was contacted early Sunday morning to help the family, he told the Tampa Bay Times.

“Tell the president, ‘Don’t worry about anything, I’ll take care of it,’” he said he told Meredith O’Rourke, Trump’s campaign finance director and the person behind the GoFundMe, on the phone call. “‘You can count on me to give the million dollars.’”

In a post to X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday, Newlin also said he would pledge $100,000 to any victim who was critically injured.

"I hope that this gesture will bring solace and support to the critically injured and surviving family members and their children," he said.

Indiana native Newlin worked as a patrol officer for the police department and an emergency medic for the fire department in New Chicago before moving to Orlando to work for the Florida Department of Corrections as a corrrections office/medic. After a year, he was offered a position with the Orange County Sheriff's Office where he advanced to fugitive detective.

He graduated from the Florida State College of Law in 2000 and began practicing law in Orlando, specializing in injury and accident victims and making a name for himself for aggressive representation and record settlements.

"Literally working day and night for justice, obtaining record verdicts of $24 million verdict for the family of a slain Orlando police officer and a $100 million verdict on a case for a young woman from central Florida who sustained a serious brain injury,' Newlin said on his LinkedIn page.

Newlin is the second-largest personal injury firm in the U.S. with ten offices across Florida, according to the American Institute of Legal Professionals.

Newlin has a daughter, Alexis.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Dan Newlin gets thanks from Trump at RNC for donation