It has been two weeks since the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump , and as Congress and federal agencies investigate the security breakdown at the Butler, Pennsylvania , rally, the revelations unfolding have sparked a multitude of conspiracy theories.
Investigative reporter Ben Swann with Truth in Media said it’s completely reasonable for people to question how 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks was able to take eight shots to the 45th president, particularly given the nonsensical explanations, including former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, who stepped down after coming under intense criticism for failing to protect Trump, saying the reason they didn’t put agents on top of the roof Crooks was stationed on because it was “too sloped."
“I think there is a reasonable view that this is more than incompetence,” Swann said. “We are not stating that it is more than incompetence publicly because we don’t know that … But it was incompetence at such a high level that it is reasonable to see why tens of millions of Americans who believe this was not a lone-wolf gunman. That this was the Secret Service almost stood down to let him get off the shots.”
Conspiracies alleging the U.S. government is not above orchestrating the execution of a political figure have been floating around ever since John F. Kennedy was killed.
Members of Congress, particularly Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), grew angry with Cheatle, saying much of the information they requested before the hearing on July 22, including the full list of names of law enforcement officials, the agency’s protocols, planning, and communication on the day of the assassination attempt, was not shared with them — nine days after the assassination attempt.
Here is the breakdown of the five most popular conspiracy theories that have come out of the assassination attempt on Trump.
Donald Trump staged the assassination attempt
This BluAnon conspiracy theory gained major traction when Reid Hoffman's political adviser, Dmitri Mehlhorn, sent an email, which was leaked, floating the idea that Trump staged the assassination attempt with the help of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Look at the shot,” Mehlhorn wrote . “Look at the staging. Look at how ready Trump is to rally; this pampered baby s*** his pants when an eagle lunged at his food. Look at how quickly Trump protects himself at the expense of others, but showed few of those lifelong instincts in this moment. And consider how often Putin and his allies run this play.”
A poll released three days after the shooting showed that one in three Democrats believed the assassination may have been staged. New evidence has since come out, but another poll hasn't been released yet. However, now FBI Director Christopher Wray said during a congressional hearing Wednesday he isn’t certain if Trump was hit by a bullet, but rather a piece of shrapnel. The FBI later came out with a statement clarifying, "What struck former President Trump in the ear was a bullet, whether whole or fragmented into smaller pieces, fired from the deceased subject’s rifle."
President Joe Biden made the 'order' to kill Trump
Less than an hour after news broke that Trump was shot, Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) took to X and shared a tweet that quoted President Joe Biden on July 8 saying on a phone call with donors that “it’s time to put Trump in the bullseye.” Collins stated, “Joe Biden sent the orders.”
He then called on the Butler County district attorney to file charges against Biden for inciting an assassination.
Other politicians have pointed to Biden’s rhetoric during the campaign in which he repeatedly states that Trump is “a threat to Democracy.”
However, the FBI has yet to uncover a motive behind Crooks's attack.
An FBI agent was in the crowd behind Trump filming the assassination
On TikTok and Twitter, video footage of a woman wearing sunglasses, a ball cap, and black hair in a ponytail gained traction, with users insisting it was FBI assistant director Janeen DiGuiseppi. Users pointed out her odd behavior; she pulled out her phone when the shots rang out while everyone around her ducked.
This particular theory garnered the attention of the X account of PBD Podcast, which has over 2 million YouTube subscribers and is hosted by entrepreneur Patrick Bet David. PBD Podcast shared the video and wrote, “This woman has allegedly been identified as FBI assistant director Janeen Diguiseppi. Is this true?”
However, it was reported by multiple news outlets that the woman sitting behind Trump was not DiGuiseppi.
“The allegations circulating on social media about an FBI executive and the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania are categorically false,” the agency stated. “To be clear, the person depicted is not her and she did not attend the rally. The men and women of the FBI work tirelessly and selflessly to protect others every day, and false rumors and conspiracy theories targeting these dedicated public servants are reprehensible and irresponsible. They are also dangerous and often lead to threats against them and their families.”
4Chan post claiming to be Secret Service sniper ordered to not take out shooter
A day after the assassination attempt, a post from 4Chan was widely circulating around online. The post claimed to be a sniper assigned at Trump’s rally.
“My name is Jonathan Willis,” the poster wrote. “I came here to inform the public that I had the assassin in my sights for at least 3 minutes, but the head of the secret service refused to give the order to take out the perp. 100% the top brass prevented me from killing the assassin before he took the shots at president Trump”.
An hour after the initial post, he wrote, “I was arrested, questioned by the FBI, and just released an hour ago. Already lost my job for not following orders, but I'm glad I took the shots anyway.”
Reuters reached out to the U.S. Secret Service and was told by spokesman Nate Herring that nobody by the name of Jonathan Willis works for the agency.
“This claim is categorically false,” they reported.
Swann raised some flags regarding the validity of the post, such as the fact the now archived post had a picture of a man wearing a jacket that says police.
“Why wouldn’t the poster give the name of whoever the individual was that wouldn’t give the go ahead?" Swann asked. “You’re identifying yourself, but you leave that name out.”
However, what later came out is that the Secret Service spotted Crooks on the roof twenty minutes before shots rang out.
BlackRock may have been involved
Crooks was featured in a BlackRock TV advertisement when he was a student at Bethel Park High School. The ad highlighted teachers managing their retirement assets and included footage of a teacher at Bethel Park High School teaching his classmates, including Crooks. He was not paid nor was he hired for the shoot.
"In 2022, we ran an ad featuring a teacher from Bethel Park High School, in which several unpaid students briefly appeared in the background, including Thomas Matthew Crooks," BlackRock said in a statement to CBS MoneyWatch. "We will make all video footage available to the appropriate authorities, and we have removed the video from circulation out of respect for the victims."
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However, many online users have seen this as more than a mere coincidence, with one TikTok user claiming BlackRock owned the building Crooks shot from.
A BlackRock spokesperson confirmed to AFP that the firm "does not own the building," nor does it have "real estate funds invested in the building."
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