Officials identified Trump shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, not Mark Violets | Fact check
The claim: Butler, Pennsylvania, police identified Trump shooter as Mark Violets, arrested him at scene
A July 13 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) includes a photo of a man the user claims is tied to the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.
“Breaking: Per the Butler Police Department the Trump shooter has been arrested at the scene and has been identified as Mark Violets, an Antifa member.”
It was shared more than 400 times in two days. Another version of the claim spread on X, formerly Twitter.
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Our rating: False
Officials identified the shooter as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was killed at the scene. There is no evidence the Butler, Pennsylvania, police department released any such statement. The police chief said the incident happened outside of city limits and that the FBI, not local law enforcement, would be issuing information to the public.
FBI, not local police, handling public information on shooting
Shots rang out during Trump’s speech at his July 13 rally in Butler. The former president and two other men were injured, and 50-year-old Corey Comperatore was killed. Trump later wrote on Truth Social that a bullet pierced his upper right ear, and the FBI announced it was investigating the shooting as an assassination attempt.
But the shooter isn't who this post claims, and there is no evidence the Butler Police Department issued the statement described in the Facebook post.
Department Chief Bob O’Neill told USA TODAY the Trump rally was held outside of city limits, and that the FBI, not the Butler Police Department, was handling news releases about the shooting.
By the time the post was published, Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger had already told Washington Post reporter Meryl Kornfield the shooter was dead, contrary to the post’s claim that he was arrested. The FBI later identified Crooks, a resident of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as the shooter. He was killed at the scene by the Secret Service’s counter sniper team, according to that agency.
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The photo included in the post shows Italian sports blogger Marco Violi, Reuters reported. Violi described the claims he was involved in the shooting as “totally baseless,” according to Instagram’s translation of his July 13 Instagram post.
“I’m in Rome and I didn’t have the slightest idea what happened,” read an excerpt of his translated statement.
USA TODAY has debunked an array of previous claims about suspects in major crimes, including false assertions the 2023 Michigan State shooting suspect was “Lynn Dee Walker” and that the suspect in the 2022 Uvalde, Texas, mass shooting was not a U.S. citizen and was in the country illegally.
USA TODAY reached out to users who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Lead Stories and Reuters also debunked the claim.
Our fact-check sources:
Bob O’Neill, July 15, Email exchange with USA TODAY
Secret Service, July 15, Statement From U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle
USA TODAY, July 14, Thomas Matthew Crooks identified as Trump shooter at Pennsylvania political rally
USA TODAY, July 14, Trump wounded at rally in assassination attempt; gunman killed
Donald Trump, July 13, Truth Social post
Marco Violi, July 13, Instagram post
Meryl Kornfield, July 13, X post
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: False claim Butler police said Trump shooter was arrested | Fact check
