Numerous conspiracy theories and disinformation spread following the attempted assassination of U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump. Truthmeter examined several of the narratives shared so far in the country, coincidence or not, also originated from individuals associated with parties aligned with the Kremlin and hold positive views on Vladimir Putin, writes Truthmeter.mk.
Under the content-sharing agreement between Truthmeter.mk and Meta.mk, we republish the text in full below:
The attempted assassination of U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump awakened conspiracy theorists in the country. When they weren’t creating their own theories, they were spreading foreign versions of unbelievable, dark scenarios that can only become true using “superhuman forces and cunning.” Truthmeter has examined several narratives shared in the country so far, that, coincidentally or not, also originated from individuals associated with Kremlin-aligned parties which hold positive views on Vladimir Putin.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) identified 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks from Pennsylvania as the suspect in the attempted assassination of Trump at the campaign rally. He was shot and killed by the Secret Service, just seconds after he fired at the stand where Trump was speaking in Butler, Pennsylvania (13th of July 2024).
Imaginary sniper Jonathan Willis
On the 18th of July, a Facebook account of someone claiming to be a supporter of the pro-Russian party Rodina published an incredible conspiracy theory regarding the sniper assigned to protect Donald Trump, and who, allegedly, shot Thomas Matthew Crooks.
The conspiracy theory with numerous elements already proved as untrue, is presented as a representation of “facts” by this account. The post emphasized that “the sniper and police officer Jonathan Willis, who eliminated Matthew Crooks, was dismissed and banned for life from armed formations as well as arrested.” According to this conspiracy theory, the so-called source is the sniper himself.
Everyone claimed that the news was fake until the police officer posted on Facebook and Twitter, where he confirmed that he was suspended and most probably would be arrested. The official FBI version claims that he was arrested for insubordination of a direct order from a superior, as he fired despite the direct command from the SWAT commander to wait and see what would happen, since they were not sure if the silhouette on the roof was a person with a weapon. Jonathan had the shooter in his sight for more than 3 minutes. He confirmed twice that he clearly saw the rifle aiming at the President, thereby reporting it through an open line monitored simultaneously by 7-8 officers and agents. The first time there was only silence, 2:36 seconds, which Jonathan described as an eternity. During the second call, he warned that he would shoot because he was 100% sure that the silhouette was the shooter. He only heard: “Hold”. Jonathan remained in position and kept the shooter in sight for 3:22 minutes. After the shooter fired and missed all 4-5 shots, Jonathan eliminated him to prevent further shooting. He still had 5 bullets left in the frame. He was dismissed and arrested because his arbitrary response jeopardized general security and was considered responsible for the person hit by the last bullet; because it is believed that this person was hit by the shooter when he fired the last bullet in agony. This justice, procedure, and curiosity will not be revealed by any of the official media in “Our Country”, concluded the post.
However, there was no sniper named Jonathan Willis engaged at the rally where the attempted assassination of Trump took place. The presented disinformation is not “facts”, rather, it originates from the anonymous conspiracy forum 4Chan.
Several global fact-checking services report that there is no secret agent named Jonathan Willis. By closely examining the high-resolution photograph of the snipers, it becomes evident that their vests are labeled “Secret Service”.
The U.S. Secret Service has recently been criticized for security failures following the attempted assassination of Trump on the 13th of July. One person was killed and three others were injured, including Trump himself, who was injured in the area around the ear. However, the post circulated in the country as a “fact stemming directly from the sniper responsible for the security who shot the assassin” is not a fact at all, it is a simple anonymous post on a bad reputation forum, where the well-known QAnon conspiracy theory also originated from. Later, the post was deleted from the forum, but was previously archived.
U.S. Secret Service spokesperson Nate Herring told the Reuters that nobody by the name Jonathan Willis was employed by the agency.
“There is no U.S. Secret Service employee by that name. This claim is categorically false”, he said.
What really happened during the shooting?
Six minutes into Trump’s rally speech, gunshots were heard. Trump grabbed his right ear before dropping to the ground behind the podium. He was covered by Secret Service agents while armed officers surrounded the scene. The agents held Trump on the ground for 25 seconds, and then someone shouted: “The attacker has been shot”!
With visible traces of blood on his ear and face, Trump was carried оff the stage by Secret Service agents. The Associated Press reported that the snipers killed Thomas Matthew Crooks moments after he began shooting at Trump, and that the Secret Service, as well as the Butler Police Department claim that they have no agents, officers, or employees under the name believed to be the sniper who neutralized Crooks.
Trump was not shot in the chest
The Facebook group called “Macedonia supports Donald Trump” spread the disinformation that Trump was hit not only in the ear but also in the chest. The viral photograph is a zoomed version of the original photograph of the Associated Press. The “hole” visible on Trump’s jacket was in fact a fold in the coat of a female officer who was protecting him. Trump himself stated that the bullet hit his right ear.
By performing reverse image search, we found the original photograph on the Associated Press website. The viral photograph was a zoomed version of the AP photograph. The AP photograph was taken by the photojournalist Evan Vucci and shared by the ABC News on Instagram. Looking at the original photograph, we can see that the alleged bullet hole was in fact a fold in the coat of a female security staff member who was protecting Trump.
Conspiracy theory that Biden ordered the assassination
The same page – “Macedonia supports Donald Trump” – came up with the narrative that “Biden ordered the attempted assassination of Trump”.
Five days before today’s attempted assassination, Biden the pissant, ordered the attack on Trump, specified the post on the page.
PBS, the US public broadcasting service, clarifies that this narrative was also shared in the USA. According to PBS, the original source of this false narrative about “Biden’s order” originated from Republican Mike Collins, who claimed that “Biden ordered to kill Trump”.
There is no evidence that Biden ordered the attempted assassination of Trump, but the “evidence” used for this claim is his statement given on the 8th of July and directed to donors:
“We’re done talking about the debate. It’s time to put Donald Trump in a “bull’s-eye.” Another day cannot go by without him explaining what he is doing, and we have to follow him”, said Biden.
The term used here is to put Trump in the “bull’s-eye”.
This Biden quote does not prove that he “gave orders to kill Trump.”
As Biden himself said, the use of the term was a mistake, but what he meant was ”to keep a closer focus on Trump’s activities”.
It was a mistake to use the word. I meant focus on him, focus on what he is doing, said Biden on Monday in an interview with Lester Holt from the NBC News.
On the 14th of July, one day after the attempted assassination of Trump, Biden made a brief statement:
I’ve been consistent in my directions with the Secret Service to provide Trump with every resource capability and protective measure necessary to ensure his continued safety.
Some cybersecurity experts, such as Chris Krebs, deem that “the gray space of unanswered questions” allows for disinformation to fill the gap of information. In that sense, Krebs pointed out that “it was imperative that everyone, including social media platforms, act responsibly to ensure that this does not spin further out of control”.
Written by Miroslava Simonovska
