When Donald Trump was shot, the internet unleashed wild conspiracy theories

MILWAUKEE — The 2024 Republican National Convention opens Monday with the unprecedented and grisly backdrop of its presumptive nominee having survived an assassination attempt. 

Former President Donald Trump arrived for the convention in Wisconsin Sunday, a day after a shooter fired a bullet that Trump said struck him in the upper ear just minutes into a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Authorities say the suspect, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, shot and killed Corey Comperatore, a former volunteer fire chief, and critically injured two more attendees before the Secret Service returned fire and killed him.

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.

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. 

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.

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 U.S. Secret Service said, fired multiple rounds from an "elevated position outside of the rally venue"; social media photos showed a body on a roof. Trump had blood trickling down his face as agents rushed him offstage, the agency said. Trump later said on Truth Social that the bullet hit the upper part of his right ear.

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 Italy, I'm in Rome and I didn't have the slightest idea what happened," Violi said according to Instagram’s translation of the post.

None of Violi’s posts on Instagram over the past few months has mentioned Trump or U.S. politics.

On Meta’s Threads platform, a user claimed to have information on the shooter. "Trump Rally Shooter has been identified as 32 year old, California resident, Hank Pecker," the text in the photo read.

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.

Country musician Travis Tritt, Arizona U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., accused Democrats of weakening Trump’s protection and risking his safety.

"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.

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."

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.

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.

What questions do you have about the Republican National Convention? What claims are you still wondering about from the Trump rally attack? 

Our team is here to track down answers to your questions and hold leaders accountable. (Next month, we’ll do it all again at the DNC.) 

Email me at [email protected].

Chief Correspondent Louis Jacobson and Staff Writers Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu, Samantha Putterman, Maria Ramirez Uribe and Loreben Tuquero contributed reporting.