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On July 13, 2024, Donald Trump suffered minor injuries when an individual fired multiple shots at the former president shortly after Trump took the stage during a campaign rally in Butler, PA. The attack killed one rally attendee and injuring three, including the former President. The shooter has been identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, PA. While the motivation for the attack remains unknown, federal law enforcement are treating the incident as an assassination attempt.
This piece will be updated as new information emerges.
Reactions
Online reactions to the assassination attempt elevated a variety of conspiracy theories about the motivation for and “real” perpetrators of the attack, as well as calls for retaliatory violence and a civil war.
Jews or Israel are Responsible
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Goyim Defense League founder and leader Jon Minadeo hosted a Spaces on X titled “JEWS TRY TO ASSASSINATE TRUMP!”
Unsurprisingly, users throughout white supremacist spaces blamed Jews for the shooting. One user wrote, “Jews have a very long history of political assassination,” and another wrote, “I can't believe it, jews were mad becouse they couldn't beat him with cheats this time lol, Amercia is screwed” [sic].
Antisemitic conspiracy theorist Stew Peters baselessly asserted that Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, is among the “early suspects” in the attack. Anti-Zionist activist Sulaiman Ahmed wrote on X, “Opinion: Israel shot Trump to install Nikki Haley.”
White supremacist Nick Fuentes posited two possible theories for the shooting, one claiming that Israeli intelligence carried out the operation to replace Trump with a candidate who would “support Gaza/West Bank Annexation and expansion of the war into Lebanon and Iran.” In a Spaces session on X, Fuentes further expressed his suspicions that Israel was responsible for the shooting because they want a “more favorable advocate in the White House.”
On July 16, CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad tweeted a link to a CNN story about the Secret Service being on high alert in the weeks before the attempted assassination due to a potential threat on Trump's life from Iran. Awad commented on the story, which does not mention Israel: "Are you sure this is not an Israeli plot to ignite another war between the US and other countries in the Middle East at its behest?"
The Left or the “Deep State” is Responsible
Many social media accounts blame “the left” for the shooting. Antisemitic conspiracy theorist Rick Wiles cast aspersions on President Biden, writing in a post on X: “SCOTUS gave total immunity to U.S. Presidents for official acts. The Court heard legal arguments that it included assassination of opponents. We have entered into a dangerous era.”
Meanwhile, conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec responded to the news by writing on X, “These leftists won’t stop until Trump is dead.” Laura Loomer, another conspiracy theorist, echoed this claim, writing that the Democrats and President Biden “have been planning to assassinate President Trump for a long time now.” One media personality wrote on X: “The Dems realized it’s too late to switch out their candidate so they attempted to kill ours instead.”
The official NWNC Proud Boys channel shared a meme with Presidents Lincoln, Reagan and Trump with the message, “You know you are a good Republican president when the left attempts to murder you.”
Some people across various social media platforms have alleged that the shooting was orchestrated by the Deep State, an alleged clandestine network of federal agencies and elites who are pursuing its own agenda within the U.S. government.
Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones warned that the Deep State will try again to kill Trump and claimed that “we are in the middle of a Deep State hot coup.” Journalist Patrick Howley wrote, “The Deep State tried to kill my boy,” and another user wrote, “The deep state globalist war pigs are probably working with the dems on this.”
The shooting was a false flag, staged or an inside job
In another post, Wiles wrote on X, “Eyewitness repeatedly pointed for 3 minutes at assassin on roof with rifle. Law enforcement ignored him. What’s up with this? Inside job?” One Telegram user wrote, “Another potential false flag. 8 shots and no one else hit? Common.” An X account echoed these sentiments in a post that has been viewed over 1.9 million times. The post includes a photo of a counter-sniper and baselessly claims that the sniper had the would-be assassin in his sights but waited to engage. Injecting antisemitism into the post, they then wrote, “What’s with the red Kabbalah string on his hand?”
Meanwhile, others doubted the legitimacy of the assassination attempt. On X, some users have alleged that the shooting was staged to boost Trump’s Presidential campaign, and on patriots.win, a forum used by extreme Trump supporters, one user wrote, “Just because the country didn't civil war today, doesn't mean it won't tomorrow. Look out for false flags blamed on angry trump supporters.”
Blaming Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Initiatives
Extremists and conspiracy theorists were quick to blame “DEI hires” for the attack, often referencing the female Secret Service agents who surrounded Trump and ushered him offstage. In one Proud Boys Telegram channel, a user suggested that the female agents must have been incompetent because “the standards aren’t the same”— promoting the misogynistic stereotype that women are less qualified and, therefore, were only hired to fill a “diversity quota.”
On X, self-proclaimed investigative journalist James O’Keefe also suggested that the female agents on the scene were incapable, writing that "they can’t even holster a gun properly.” Fuentes responded with, “LOL no more female cops please.”
Christopher Pohlhaus, leader of the neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe, reshared a post on Telegram targeting U.S. Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle, claiming that she has overprioritized “diversity-hiring.”
Calls for Violence or a Civil War
Many users on platforms like X, patriots.win and Telegram responded with calls for violence and a civil war. Such calls are dangerous because they normalize the use of violence against perceived political enemies. On X, one user wrote, “Fuck every single one of you fucking worthless Democrats…Now, we are going to fucking destroy you.” One Telegram user wrote, “Bring it on…now we mobilize.” On patriots.win, one user wrote, “So let’s shoot them back. Play time is over,” and another wrote, “The only way this will be solved is through violence.” Another user wrote, “they will have blood all over themselves when we go after them. Their blood,” and then added in a different thread, “You missed, but we won't. Retaliation is coming. Someone hired the assassin, a professional…We will hunt down that someone.”
Others framed the assassination attempt as the beginning of a civil war. One X user wrote, “The lunatic liberal left. The war has begun,” and another wrote, “This is Civil War, and we haven’t heard the “Shot Heard around the World,” Until NOW!!!” [sic]. Meanwhile on patriots.win, a user wrote, “Looks like the Civil War just started, you dems are fucked.”
The perpetrator
ADL Center on Extremism (COE) researchers have found FEC data showing that a then-17-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks donated $15 to ActBlue on January 21, 2021 (the day of President Biden’s inauguration) when he was 17 years old, earmarking it to the Democratic PAC’s Progressive Turnout Project. However, according to Pennsylvania voter records, Crooks registered as a Republican when he turned 18 in September 2021.
On Sunday, July 14, the New York Times reported that authorities found what appear to be two explosive devices in Crooks’ car and another at his home.
COE researchers did identify Discord and YouTube accounts that appear to belong to Crooks, but the accounts do not shed light on a potential motive.