FACT CHECK: Viral Photo of Man is Not Trump Rally Shooter

Jesse Stiller | Contributor

Numerous posts circulating on social media claim that an account on X, formerly known as Twitter, has been linked to Pennsylvania rally shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks.

Verdict: False

The person in both the video and photo are not actually of Crooks. The user who originally uploaded the photo and video claimed they were joke posts.

Fact Check:

Former President Donald Trump was struck in the ear by a bullet during a rally July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania, the New York Times reported. The gunman, since identified as Crooks, was a 20-year-old resident of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, the outlet reported.

Numerous social media posts have circulated in the wake of the shooting claiming to show the suspected shooter, while some international media outlets also used the photo as well. “I will be shocked if this worm Thomas Matthew Crooks is not some flavor of Leftist Antifa scum,” one post read. “He looks like every other slack-jawed, slope-melon, smooth brain wannabe revolutionary.”

The photo is not of Crooks. the images are of a user on X under the handle @jewgazing. Following the widespread coverage of the post, the account was locked and the tweets were quickly removed. While there are no known archives of the page itself, users who recorded the page show the account user claiming that the posts were a joke and that it was “getting too far.” Another post, showing the user at a theater, appears to match the appearance of the person in the viral photo.

People who are prematurely quick to share videos of ‘the shooter’; who is memeing about this on his account @jewgazing. What times,” One post translated to.

BBC Verify journalist Shayan Sardarizadeh also posted tweets about the user, stating that the account was “the exact same X user who pretended to be the shooter in an odd trolling attempt.”

Check Your Fact has attempted to reach out to the user behind the account. This post will be updated if a comment is received.

Jesse Stiller

Contributor

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