Was a Secret Service sniper blocked from shooting the assassin before he could shoot at Donald Trump?! Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Updated @ 2024-07-16 : Added confirmation by the Secret Service, and other updates
Originally posted @ 2024-07-15
Claim : Secret Service Blocked Sniper From Shooting Trump Assassin!
Some people are claiming or suggesting that the Secret Service blocked one of their snipers from shooting the assassin, Thomas Mathew Crooks, before he could shoot at Donald Trump!
Giordano Bruno : Jonathan Willis, the officer in the famous photo of the two snipers on the roof at Trump’s rally, has informed the public that he had the assassin in his sights for at least 3 minutes, but the head of the Secret Service refused to give the order to take out the perpetrator. They prevented him from stopping the assassin before he took shots at President Trump and killed a spectator and wounded 2 others 😡😠😡
Recommended : Was Donald Trump shot in chest + saved by bulletproof vest?!
No Evidence Secret Service Blocked Sniper From Shooting Trump Assassin!
This is yet another example of fake news surrounding the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : Post Was Made Anonymously On 4Chan
Let me start by pointing out that the viral claim was made anonymously on the anonymous message board 4chan. The person who posted it claimed to be a Secret Service counter-sniper called Jonathan Willis.
My name is Jonathan Willis, I’m the officer in the famous photo of the two snipers on the roof at Trump’s rally. I came here to inform the public that I had the assassin in my sights for at least 3 minutes, but the head of the secret service refused to give the order to take out the perp. 100% the top brass prevented me from killing the assassin before he took the shots at president Trump.
I didn’t follow the orders though, as soon as the shooter opened on Trump I returned fire despite strict orders to not engage. I had eyes on the shooter for three minutes watching him fiddle with his rifle and adjust the scope, it was obvious he was a shooter yet I wasn’t allowed to engage. After I killed the shooter I was arrested, questioned by the FBI, and just released an hour ago. Already lost my job for not following orders, but I’m glad I took the shots anyway.
However, anyone can post anything on 4chan, and people often make bizarre and outright false claims on that anonymous message board all the time.
There is simply no evidence that a Jonathan Willis actually works for the US Secret Service as a counter-sniper. There is also no evidence that he was the sniper seen in the viral photo, who shot and killed Thomas Matthew Crooks – the gunman who almost killed Donald Trump.
Recommended : Secret Service stood down before Trump assassination attempt?!
Fact #2 : Post Has Many Logical Problems
On top of that, the anonymous post has many logical and factual problems, if you read it carefully. For example:
- Donald Trump is the former president, and would not be referred to as “President Trump”.
- Secret Service snipers are not known as “officers”.
- It is rather ridiculous to think that Secret Service agents would clearly identify themselves publicly, or speak out publicly, during an active investigation.
- Secret Service counter-snipers have great leeway to eliminate threats, as there is often no time to “ask for permission” before taking out a potential assassin.
- Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle was not on site, and could not have denied permission for the counter-sniper team to engage the shooter.
- Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle actually praised the quick action of the counter-sniper team in “neutralizing the shooter”.
- It would be quite impossible for this “Jonathan Willis” to observe Thomas Matthew Crooks fiddling with his rifle scope, because his rifle has no scope on it!
- Even if the two counter-sniper teams had strict orders not to shoot anyone (which is ridiculous), that order would have been rendered moot after the gunman started shooting.
- There is no reason for the FBI to arrest Jonathan Willis, or any of the Secret Service counter-snipers, for doing their jobs.
- There is no reason for the Secret Service to fire Jonathan Willis, or any of the Secret Service counter-snipers, for doing their jobs.
- It seems preposterous that the first thing a Secret Service sniper would do after being released by the FBI is to “bitch” about it on 4chan.
There are just so many red flags with those posts which suggest that it’s completely fabricated, and was not posted by an actual Secret Service employee, never mind the sniper who shot the would-be Trump assassin, Thomas Matthew Crooks.
Fact #3 : Jonathan Willis Does Not Work For Secret Service / Butler Police
The Associated Press investigated the claim, and found that “there is no agent or office by the name of Jonathan Willis working for the Secret Service or the Butler police“. In addition, it noted that there are no Internet records of such an officer.
Nate Herring, a spokesman for the Secret Service, also confirmed that no one by the name of Jonathan Willis is employed by the US Secret Service.
Recommended : Did Trump vow to destroy WEF after assassination attempt?!
Fact #4 : Snipers Do Not Need Permission To Shoot
The spokesman for the Secret Service also said that its snipers are trained and instructed to act whenever they see a threat, and do not need to wait for instructions before they take a shot to neutralise a suspect.
Fact #5 : Secret Service Called Claims “False”
Finally, the Secret Service spokesman said that the claims made in the viral 4chan post were “false”.
Witnesses at the Butler rally spotted Thomas Matthew Crooks onto a nearby roof and alerted police officers. A local police officer climbed to the roof and saw Crooks, who pointed his rifle at the officer, forcing him to retreat down the ladder. Crooks then quickly turned and fired at Trump, which was when the Secret Service counter-sniper team shot him.
Fact #6 : This Is Just Fake News About Donald Trump
This is yet another example of fake news created about Donald Trump, like these other examples:
- Did Trump vow to destroy WEF after assassination attempt?!
- Secret Service stood down before Trump assassination attempt?!
- Was Donald Trump shot in chest + saved by bulletproof vest?!
- Did Donald Trump Just Praise HUAWEI + China?!
- Did Trump mock dead US soldiers as ‘Suckers’ and ‘Losers’?!
- Did Trump propose death penalty for pro-Palestine protestors?!
- Did Barron Trump Vow To Destroy New World Order?!
- Did Stormy Daniels Wear Mushroom Dress To Trump Trial?!
- Judge Merchan blocked Donald Trump from Barron’s graduation?!
As campaigning for the 2024 US Presidential elections heats up, you can expect more fake news about Donald Trump to appear.
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
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