Secret Service debunks viral claim from supposed sniper, 'Jonathan WIllis' | Fact check

The claim: Secret Service sniper Jonathan Willis wasn't allowed to shoot would-be Trump assassin

[ En Español : Servicio Secreto desmiente afirmación de supuesto francotirador 'Jonathan Willis ]

A July 14 Instagram post (direct link, archive link ) shows a photo of Secret Service snipers at the scene of the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump.

“BREAKING NEWS: Jonathan Willis, the officer in the famous photo of the 2 snipers on the roof of Trump's rally, has reported that he had the killer in his sights for 3 minutes,” reads text within the post in Spanish. “But the head of the Secret Service refused to give the green light to neutralize him.”

The post, which is a screenshot of a post originally shared on X , formerly Twitter, garnered more than 300 likes in a week. Similar versions of the claim were shared on Facebook and X .

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Fact check roundup: False claims about Trump rally shooting spread online

Our rating: False

The Secret Service told Reuters that no employee named Jonathan Willis works at the agency.

No one named Jonathan Willis works for the Secret Service

The FBI said that Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, opened fire at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. Trump and two rally attendees were injured in the assassination attempt. A third man was killed .

The Secret Service's counter sniper team killed Crooks, according to the agency .

But no one named Jonathan Willis was involved with that team. Nate Herring, a Secret Service spokesperson, told Reuters that there is no employee with that name at the agency and described the claim as false.

USA TODAY contacted the Secret Service for comment, but the agency did not respond to the request.

Fact check : Image shows Trump at golf course in 2022, not after rally shooting

The claim likely refers to an anonymous post on 4chan supposedly written by Jonathan Willis, who said he was a sniper at the rally but wasn't given permission to shoot. The post is no longer available.

The controversial social media site is often used to spread false conspiracy theories, according to the Poynter Institute.

USA TODAY has debunked many false claims surrounding the assassination attempt, including that Alejandro Mayorkas, secretary of Homeland Security, denied requests for additional security at the Trump rall y and that Trump’s suit at the rally had a bullet hole.

USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

The Associated Press and FactCheck.org also debunked the claim.

Our fact-check sources:

• FBI, July 15, Update on the FBI Investigation of the Attempted Assassination of Former President Donald Trump
• Secret Service, July 13, Secret Service Statements Regarding Violence at the July 13, 2024, Trump Campaign Rally
• Secret Service, July 15, Statement From U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle
• Reuters, July 18, 2024, Fact Check: ‘Jonathan Willis’ is not a Secret Service employee, says spokesperson

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Secret Service debunks viral claim from supposed sniper, 'Jonathan WIllis' | Fact check