Fact-checking the wild conspiracy theories related to the
attempted Trump assassination
Politics
This fact check originally appeared on PolitiFact.
Former President Donald Trump arrived for the convention in
Twenty-four hours later, Crooks’ motive remained unknown.
Members of Congress joined prominent social media accounts in filling the void
with evidence-free assertions about what inspired the suspect and his political
beliefs.
READ MORE: After the assassination attempt against Trump,
anger and anxiety loom over the Republican convention
In an Oval Office address Sunday evening, President Joe
Biden pleaded for Americans to “lower the temperature” of their politics,
saying political differences should be resolved at the ballot box.
Trump decided to keep his plans and fly here Sunday, saying
he did not want to let a “potential assassin” delay his arrival.
There are many unanswered questions.
On Trump’s to-do list heading into the RNC was revealing his
running mate. With the assassination attempt dominating the news and the mood,
will Trump reveal a name? Will Trump speak? We’re waiting to see how the
assassination attempt will influence the lineup and the themes.
Social media platforms flooded with ‘staged’ claims
Conspiracy theories that the assassination attempt on Trump
was staged flooded the internet almost immediately after the shooting suspect
opened fire.
“Donald Trump continues to play in our faces!! This was SO
staged!!! If someone REALLY wanted to take him out, they wouldn’t use a BB
Gun!!” one person posted on X a little more than an hour after the shooting.
Some social media users even falsely claimed that Trump
faked the blood coming from his ear with a “blood pill.”
The “staged” claims are Pants on Fire. The FBI is
investigating the shooting as an assassination attempt. It was witnessed by
thousands of rally attendees, including dozens of news photographers and
reporters.
WATCH: How Trump’s assassination attempt compares to the
attempt on Reagan in 1981
Secret Service personnel shot and killed Crooks, the
suspected shooter, shortly after he opened fire, the agency said. Law
enforcement officials recovered an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle from a
nearby building’s roof, according to The New York Times.
Law enforcement officials continued to investigate a
potential motive the day after the shooting.
The shooter, the
Innocent people wrongly identified as the shooter online
It took officials until the early hours of July 14 to
release the suspected gunman’s identity. The internet quickly amassed dubious
information.
As people worldwide flocked to platforms such as X and
TikTok to learn the latest on the assassination attempt, they found a flurry of
suspect names that were purportedly confirmed, along with photos that were
anything but legitimate.
One Italian sports blogger found his words and likeness
transformed into something false and malicious.
“The #Trump shooter, Mark Violets, has been killed. He
uploaded a video on YouTube before the attack, claiming ‘justice was coming.’
Well justice came for nobody but himself,” one Facebook post said.
This was Pants on Fire. The man in the video had nothing to
do with shooting. Marco Violi posted a statement in Italian on Instagram
denying involvement in the shooting.
“I’m in
None of Violi’s posts on Instagram over the past few months
has mentioned Trump or
On
This, too, was Pants on Fire. This time, a reverse-image
search showed that the Threads post’s photo was uploaded in February 2022 by
Twitch streamer Hasan Piker. According to Dot Esports, an esports and gaming
news site, Piker has roleplayed a “gun-loving, self-proclaimed libertarian”
character named Hank Pecker in his videos.
One more: Social media posts quickly claimed to reveal the
portrait of the suspect, showing the side profile of a long-haired blond man
wearing a blue shirt and eyeglasses.
The man can be seen in a video claiming responsibility for
the attack. “My name is Thomas Matthew Crooks,” he said. “I hate Republicans, I
hate Trump and guess what, you got the wrong guy.”
Pants on Fire. The man in the video is not Crooks. The
photos and video surfaced online several hours after officials confirmed the
real shooting suspect was dead.
Yes, some Democrats wanted to strip Trump’s Secret Service
protection
Country musician Travis Tritt,
“Just this congress,” eight Democratic House members “all
cosponsored legislation to TERMINATE Trump’s Secret Service protection,” Greene
tweeted July 13.
This is accurate and relates to Trump’s criminal cases.
In April, Democratic Reps. Troy A. Carter Sr. of Louisiana,
Barbara Lee of California, Frederica Wilson of Florida, Yvette D. Clarke of New
York, Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey, Jasmine Crockett of Texas, Joyce
Beatty of Ohio, and Steve Cohen of Tennessee co-sponsored H.R. 8081, a measure
that would have redefined who qualifies for Secret Service protection, saying
it would “terminate for any person upon sentencing following conviction for a
federal or state offense that is punishable for a term of imprisonment of at
least one year.”
That would have covered Trump, and the bill’s title —
“Denying Infinite Security and Government Resources Allocated toward Convicted
and Extremely Dishonorable Former Protectees Act,” or “DISGRACED Former
Protectees Act” — was clearly directed at Trump, who was convicted in New York
City for falsifying business records at the time. The jury found Trump guilty
on all 34 counts.
The way it was written, the bill would have lumped together
all types of recipients of Secret Service protection, without distinguishing
between former presidents and current presidential candidates, which are both
categories that include Trump.
The legislation stalled following its introduction, and the
vast majority of Democratic House members did not co-sponsor it.
Baseless claims that ‘Biden sent the orders’
Before many facts about the shooter were known, U.S. Rep.
Mike Collins, R-Ga., said “Joe Biden sent the orders” to assassinate Trump.
There is zero evidence that Biden ordered Trump’s
assassination.
In his post, Collins cited a post by Steve Guest, who
identifies himself in his account as a “conservative communicator.” Guest’s
post said, “Joe Biden on 7.8.2024: “We’re done talking about the debate, it’s
time to put Trump in a bullseye.”
This refers to remarks reported by CNN in a July 8 call to
donors. CNN described its source as “a recording of the call obtained by CNN
from a participant not authorized to release it.”
According to CNN, Biden said it was time to turn his own and
the nation’s focus from his debate performance June 27, which many pundits and
politicos panned.
“We’re done talking about the debate,” Biden said, according
to CNN. “It’s time to put Trump in the bull’s-eye. We can’t go another day,
another day, without explaining what he’s doing, and we have to go after him.”
This quote does not demonstrate that Biden “sent the orders”
to assassinate Trump.
The X account of the Republican-controlled House Judiciary
Committee amplified the same Biden quote but didn’t go as far as Collins did in
saying Biden ordered the assassination. The committee’s post said, “Joe Biden:
‘It’s time to put Trump in a bullseye.’ That just happened.”
On July 14, the day after the attempted assassination,
Biden, in brief remarks, said, “I’ve been consistent in my direction with the
Secret Service to provide (Trump) with every resource capability and protective
measure necessary to ensure his continued safety.”
Where was Biden when the shooting happened? When did he
respond?
Immediately after the attempted assassination, some social
media users asked where Biden was and whether he would speak.
“Where is Biden? Where is the White House? Why have the
American people not heard from the President?” Michael Markey Jr., the
Republican candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in Michigan, asked
7:22 p.m. ET on X.
“What is Joe Biden doing?” Dave Portnoy, founder of Barstool
Sports asked in a X video at 7:47p.m. ET.
Reports from journalists who travel with the president said
Biden arrived at 5:43 p.m. ET at St. Edmond Catholic Church in Rehoboth Beach,
Delaware.
WATCH: Biden’s Oval Office address on Trump’s attempted
assassination – PBS News special report
The president was spending the weekend at his second home
and celebrating Saturday evening Mass, according to the journalists’ reports.
The U.S. Secret Service said the shooting occurred at
approximately 6:15 p.m. ET.
The president came out of the church at 6:19 p.m., according
to a pool report a traveling journalist filed at 6:23 p.m. It said reporters
asked Biden whether he had been briefed on the shooting; he said “no,” the
report said.
Biden headed to his Delaware home from church. At 6:45 p.m.,
the journalist’s report said, the president received an initial briefing on the
shooting. He released a statement at 7:58 p.m. on X, saying he had been briefed
about the shooting at Trump’s rally and was “grateful to hear that he’s safe
and doing well.” At 8:13 p.m., Biden spoke from the Rehoboth Beach Police
Department.
After speaking to Trump, Biden returned to the White House
at 12:37 a.m. July 14, according to the journalist’s report.
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