Post wrongly claims nothing hit in Trump rally shooting | Fact check

Andre Byik, USA TODAY
Updated ·4 min read
113

The claim: Video shows Trump assassination attempt was 'staged,' there were 'no bullets flying'

A July 14 Facebook video (direct link, archive link) shows a man speaking over news footage about shots apparently being fired during former President Donald Trump's July 13 campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

"Staged. ... Ain't no bullets flying or nothing, you know what I'm saying?" the man says in the video, alongside footage of Trump being surrounded by Secret Service agents after going to the ground. "If you know anything about a shootout – seen a shootout – you would see bullets flying. ... Man, ain't nothing going on. Nothing getting hit."

Text on the video directly above the news footage reads, "They faked the whole trump (shooting) if it was real he woulda got hit like John f Kennedy did a hitman don't miss they paid to do this it's fake" (sic).

The post was shared more than 100 times in a day.

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Our rating: False

This video doesn't show the Trump rally shooting was "staged." Multiple people were shot and one was killed after a shooter opened fire during the rally, according to state and federal law enforcement agencies. The Secret Service had already confirmed the shooting resulted in casualties by the time the Facebook post was shared on July 14.

Trump rally attendees 'shot,' PA police said

The footage in the Facebook video is from a July 13 breaking news report by NBC News. The report relayed early information about apparent shots that were fired at a Trump campaign rally held the same day in Butler, Pennsylvania. The segment included reporting about Trump being rushed off stage and appearing to have blood on his face.

But while the report was scarce on details, neither the report nor the included footage prove the shooting was "faked," as the Facebook post claims. By the time the post was shared on July 14, the Secret Service had already confirmed a shooting at the rally resulted in casualties.

In a July 13 statement, the Secret Service said a person fired multiple shots toward the stage from an elevated position outside the rally venue. One spectator was killed, and two other spectators were critically injured, the statement said. Secret Service personnel "neutralized" the shooter, who also died, according to the statement.

Fact check: Officials identified Trump shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, not Mark Violets

The next day, on July 14, the FBI identified the suspected shooter as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. The agency said it was investigating the shooting as an attempted assassination on Trump, who was also injured.

The claim that nothing was hit by gunfire is also wrong. While the news video in the post doesn't show it, the Pennsylvania State Police said in a July 14 news release that three attendees were "shot during the attempted assassination of former President Trump at yesterday’s rally in Butler County." One attendee, 50-year-old Corey Comperatore, was killed, and two others, David Dutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74, were injured, the release said.

Trump also said on Truth Social that he was hit by a bullet in the upper part of his right ear. An image captured by Doug Mills, a veteran New York Times photographer, shows what appears to be a bullet streaking by Trump's head during the rally, according to The New York Times.

The Facebook user who shared the video did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: No, video doesn't show Trump rally shooting was 'staged' | Fact check

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