Facts about Trump assassination attempt: What's real, what's not and how we know
The attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump comes in an election cycle inundated with questions about what's real.
We've seen a fake Joe Biden robocall, fabricated Trump statements, fake election filings and all manner of AI and deep fake images and videos. Not to mention the expected array of misleading posts about the presidential race.
This environment has spurred many to question reality – whether the scenes displayed nationwide by media outlets and on social media really reflect what happened.
But let's be clear. The shooting was real. Though the investigation is ongoing and some details remain unknown, there is extensive evidence showing what happened at Trump's July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Here's what we know and how we know it.
Fact check roundup: False claims about Trump rally shooting spread online
Was there really an assassination attempt on Trump?
Claims that major news events are staged are hardly original. We saw the same trope after the Hamas attack on Israel, the Baltimore bridge collapse, the 2023 Ohio train derailment, the 2023 Nashville school shooting and many more. This narrative is as wrong now as it was in each of those cases.
An investigation led by the FBI found that Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, fired multiple shots toward the stage where Trump was speaking to a crowd of his supporters, according to statements released by the FBI and Secret Service. Crooks fired an AR-15-style rifle from a roof about 150 yards away and was killed by Secret Service agents moments after opening fire.
Videos published by multiple news outlets, including USA TODAY, show Trump abruptly reaching for his right ear, looking at his bloody hand and then dropping down behind the podium. People nearby can be heard saying, "Shots, shots, shots." A moment later, Secret Service agents surround Trump and escort him off the stage.
Shortly before Crooks opened fire, several rally attendees tried to get the attention of police after witnessing a suspicious man on a roof. Footage they took shows a man with long, light brown hair dressed in a beige shirt and pants can be seen lying down on the upward-slanting roof.
“Someone’s on top of the roof,” a man says in a video posted on social media the next day, while Trump speaks in the background. “Officer! Officer!" a man yells. “He’s on the roof!” a woman adds.
A July 15 statement from the FBI says it's investigating the incident "as an assassination attempt … and as potential domestic terrorism." It also indicates the bureau has done nearly 100 interviews with "law enforcement personnel, event attendees and other witnesses."
Were shots really fired at Trump rally?
Multiple shots were fired during the incident, contrary to various online claims that the shooting was "fake" or "staged."
In a July 14 statement, the Pennsylvania State Police identified three rally attendees who were "shot during the attempted assassination of former President Trump at yesterday’s rally in Butler County." Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old firefighter and father of two, was killed. Two others, David Dutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74, were injured.
Trump said in a Truth Social post that he was struck by a bullet in the upper part of his right ear. A photo taken by New York Times photographer Doug Mills shows what appears to be a bullet streaking by Trump's head during the rally.
Fact check: Post wrongly claims nothing hit in Trump rally shooting
Was Trump shot?
In his Truth Social post, Trump said he was "shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear."
"I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin," he wrote.
The statements released by the FBI are not as direct about the cause of Trump's injury, only indicating that the "shooting incident" led to "one victim's death and injuries to former President Trump and other spectators."
Who was behind the Trump rally shooting?
As of July 16, the investigation indicated that Crooks acted alone, according to the FBI, which also noted it "continues to conduct logical investigative activity to determine if there were any co-conspirators associated with this attack."
Crooks, who was not known to the FBI before the incident, worked at a nursing home as a dietary aid, a job that generally involves food preparation. He doesn't have a criminal record in Pennsylvania, according to state court records. No record of him shows up in federal court databases either.
Some former classmates described Crooks as a loner who kept to himself and had few friends. Crooks also appears to have had an affinity for guns. He and his father were members of the Clairton Sportsmen’s Club, a nearby 180-acre complex with rifle, pistol, archery and competition ranges, among other amenities.
The National Security Council hasn't identified any ties between the assassination attempt and any foreign officials. However, it is still tracking threats by Iran against former Trump administration officials, Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the agency, said in a statement.
Fact check: Man pretended he was Trump rally shooter in a viral video
Was the Trump shooter a Republican? Antifa?
Various unproven claims about the Trump shooter have circulated online, but the little we know about his politics right now is somewhat conflicting.
Crooks is registered to vote as a Republican in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, according to county voter records. His voter registration status has been active since 2021. However, he also made a $15 donation in January 2021 to the Progressive Turnout Project, a group working to increase voter turnout for Democrats, according to Federal Election Commission records.
The bureau has yet to identify a motive for the shooting, but it has searched Crooks' residence and vehicle, and it also gained access to his phone. However, CNN reported that investigators have not found evidence of a political or ideological impetus and that Crooks' search history did not show he had researched homemade explosives.
Fact check: Officials identified Trump shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, not Mark Violets
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump shooting facts: What's real, what's not and how we know
