This Image Shows a Transgender Woman, Not the Alleged Trump Shooter
The Claim
The suspect who tried to assassinate Donald Trump is a transgender woman.
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Emerging story
Recently, social media users have been circulating a photo claiming that the suspect who tried to assassinate Donald Trump is a transgender woman. Many posts have gone viral on the X platform in different languages. An account called “Politically Stripped” commented on this photo: “Why is the media using a photo of Trump shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks from when he was 16 years old? He is wearing a choker like a teenage girl would wear. Another trans shooter?”
A Spanish Telegram channel shared the photo with the caption: 'They spread an alleged photo of the young man who tried to assassinate Donald Trump, which supposedly proves that he had sexual identity problems.'
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar investigated the circulating Photo and found the claim to be misleading.
This Photo Shows a Transgender Woman Named Rose, Not the Trump Shooter
The person depicted in the photo is a transgender woman named Rose. She told a journalist who covers LGBT issues that she was alarmed when her friend informed her that her photo had gone viral on social media as the Trump shooter. Rose shared a new picture of herself on July 18 to prove that she is not the suspect.
Misbar's team contacted Rose to ask about the photo incident and how it spread. Rose replied: "Someone from 4chan thought it would be funny to use my picture and say I was the shooter. A friend informed me about the photo being circulated."
Another Suspect Misidentified in Trump Assassination Case
The true criminal has been mistakenly identified before. This is not the first time. A long-haired blond man with spectacles and a blue shirt is frequently depicted in side profiles on social media posts as the Trump shooter.
A viral video features this man claiming responsibility for the attack. He said, "My name is Thomas Matthew Crooks. I hate Republicans, I hate Trump, and guess what, you got the wrong guy." Later, it was proved that this person in the video was not the shooter.
Another individual, an Italian named Marco, was misidentified as the Trump shooter. Pro-far-right accounts circulated a photo of the shooter at a Trump rally, claiming it was of a man named Mark Violets and describing him as a “known antifa extremist,” referencing the unorganized leftist movement. Upon verification, it was found that the photo was misleading and belonged to Marco Violi, a well-known Italian sportswriter and video content creator on social media, who denied any involvement in the shooting.
Violi posted on his Instagram account that the news was false, writing in Italian: “I strongly deny that I was involved in this situation. I woke up in the middle of the night from the many notifications I received on Instagram and X. I am in Italy, I am in Rome, and I had no idea about what happened.”
Thomas Matthew Crooks Identified in Trump Assassination Attempt: New Evidence
The FBI has identified Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as the suspect involved in the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania.
On July 24, Senator Chuck Grassley unveiled additional recordings and documents related to the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. The full 28-minute video, posted on YouTube, features Beaver County EMS personnel conversing with a Secret Service agent shortly after the July 13 shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania. During the incident, the 20-year-old shooter killed one person and injured two others at the campaign rally.
The video includes redacted bodycam footage of the gunman, who shot at the audience and slightly injured the former president's ear before being killed by a Secret Service counter-sniper. Blood from the shooter's body is also visible in the video, which was obtained from investigators who examined the rooftop from which the shooter fired.
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