Tag Archives: Sniper

Did Secret Service block sniper from shooting Trump assassin?!

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 😡😠😡

luluHru : Head of Secret Service refused to let the sniper take the shot! This is all on the SS!

Jeckov Kanani : BREAKING: 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.😳

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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.

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.

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:

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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He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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Secret Service stood down before Trump assassination attempt?!

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Was the Secret Service given orders to stand down before the assassination attempt on Donald Trump?! Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!

Claim : Secret Service Stood Down Before Trump Assassination Attempt!

People are sharing an article (archive) by The People’s Voice (formerly NewsPunch), which claims that the WEF just declared the bird flu as an international pandemic!

Here is an excerpt of the long and (intentionally?) confusing article. Feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!

Secret Service Given ‘Stand Down’ Orders Before Trump Assassination Attempt

Shortly after Saturday’s attempted assassination of Donald Trump, eyewitnesses and videos reveal that the Secret Service were given ‘stand down’ orders to allow the rooftop shooter to carry out the hit.

Footage of snipers pointing their guns at the assassin but refusing to pull their trigger, deliberately allowing Trump to remain in the direct line of fire, had pundits on X asking “Why didn’t they shoot him first?”

This isn’t the first time the Secret Service have stood down during an active assassination attempt on a U.S. President. On 22 November, 1963, the secret service ignored multiple witnesses who alerted them to a guy with a rifle pointed at JFK’s motorcade.

An eyewitness shockingly told BBC News he saw the shooter carrying a long rifle and climbing onto the top of a building about four hundred yards away from Trump’s stage.

“We noticed the guy bear-crawling up the roof of the building beside us. We’re pointing at the guy crawling up the roof. He had a rifle. The police are down there running around on the ground and we’re like, ‘Hey, there’s a guy on the roof with a rifle.’”

The witness said he tried to get the attention of nearby police officers and started wondering, “Why is Trump still speaking? Why haven’t they pulled him off stage.”

According to the man, the shooter was on the roof for “three to four minutes” before firing five shots.

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Truth : Secret Service Did Not Stand Down Before Trump Assassination Attempt!

This is yet another example of fake news created / promoted by The People’s Voice, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : Secret Service Did Not Stand Down

Let me start by simply pointing out that the Secret Service did not stand down before the assassination attempt was made on Donald Trump. There is also no evidence that the Secret Service received orders to stand down, and allow the shooter to carry out the hit.

If that actually happened, it would have been widely reported by the mainstream media all over the world, and condemned by people on both sides of the political divide. Yet none of that happened because it was all made up!

In fact, the Secret Service had two heavily armed teams at the rally to protect Donald Trump – the counter-assault team with a code name of “Hawkeye” to eliminate threats so other agents can shield and take Trump away, and the counter-sniper team known as “Hercules” which is armed with long-range binoculars and sniper rifles.

Unsurprisingly, the The People’s Voice article did not provide any evidence to back up its “fact checked” claim that the Secret Services were given ‘stand down’ orders to allow the rooftop shooter to carry out the assassination attempt on Donald Trump.

Fact #2 : Shooter Was Killed By The Secret Service

I should also point out that it was a Secret Service sniper that shot and killed the shooter, who was later identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks.

That would not have happened if the Secret Service was given orders to stand down, and allow the shooter to open fire on Donald Trump.

Fact #3 : Trump Was Rushed Off Stage By Secret Service

Photos and videos of the event also show the Secret Service detail shielding and rushing Donald Trump off the stage. They clearly show that the Secret Service detail protecting Trump did not “stand down” as alleged.

Fact #4 : Bystander Reported Shooter To The Police

A bystander, Greg Smith, told BBC he witnessed Thomas Matthew Crooks crawling up the top of the building with a rifle, and pointed him out to the police, minutes before he shot at Donald Trump.

We noticed the guy bear-crawling up the roof of the building beside us, 50ft away. He had a rifle, we could clearly see a rifle.

We’re pointing at him, the police are down there running around on the ground, we’re like ‘Hey man, there’s a guy on the roof with a rifle’… and the police did not know what was going on.

Smith said he tried to alert the police for 3-4 minutes, but said he thought they probably could not see the shooter, because of the slope of the roof. Law enforcement sources confirmed the eyewitness report, and said that “officers lost track of [the gunman] before the shooting began”.

It is important to note that Smith only alerted the police, not the Secret Service. They also did not ignore him, but simply could not see the gunman before he started shooting.

Fact #5 : The People’s Voice Is Known For Fake News

The People’s Voice is the current name for NewsPunch, which possibly changed its name because its brand has been so thoroughly discredited after posting numerous shocking but fake stories.

Founded as Your News Wire in 2014, it was rebranded as NewsPunch in November 2018, before becoming The People’s Voice. A 2017 BuzzFeed report identified NewsPunch as the second-largest source of popular fake news on Facebook that year.

Its articles have been regularly debunked as fake news, so you should never share anything from NewsPunch / The People’s Voice. Here are some of its fake stories that I fact checked earlier:

Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!

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Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!

Name : Adrian Wong
Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
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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.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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Was Ukrainian Plot To Assassinate Donald Trump Just Foiled?!

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Did US Army CID officers just foil a plot by Ukraine to assassinate Donald Trump?! Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!

Claim : Ukrainian Plot To Assassinate Donald Trump Was Just Foiled!

On 24 February 2024, Real Raw News posted an article (archive) which claimed or suggested that US Army CID officers just foiled a plot by Ukraine to assassinate Donald Trump!

As usual, the article is long, rambling and confusing, so here is an excerpt. Please feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!

White Hats Foil (another) Plot to Assassinate President Trump

U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division officers on Wednesday arrested two men suspected of plotting to assassinate President Donald J. Trump at the CPAC conference in National Harbor, Maryland, sources at CID’s headquarters told Real Raw News.

The suspects appeared to be foreigners who spoke limited English with thick Eastern European accents, characterized by heavy use of guttural and palatal consonants. Although the duo discussed dining arrangements and not devious details of assassinating the president, the existence of the map and its shady artists raised the alarm, and the CID officers, having notified their commanding officer and Gen. Smith’s office, requested permission to surveil the suspects.

CID learned quickly that the suspects had leased a nondescript van and rented a room at the MGM National Harbor Hotel & Casino a mile north of the convention center. White Hats at U.S. Army Cyber Command accessed the hotel’s registry and discovered that the men had booked separate rooms using the undeniable aliases of William Henry James and Stephen Butler.

Early Wednesday morning, while the sky was still black as pitch and “James” and “Butler” slept soundly in their rooms, the CID team located the suspects’ van, parked on a crossroad, and discovered that someone had cut out a circular hole—large enough to accommodate a scoped rifle—in a rear door pane of glass, which had been carefully reseated using transparent tape.

Our source said the team bypassed the vehicle alarm. The interior held electronic surveillance gear and a steel case secured with a padlock, which CID picked. Upon opening the case, their fears became realized; it held a suppressor-equipped M2010 Enhanced Sniper Rifle, a U.S. Army weapon that supplemented the venerable M24 Sniper Weapons System in 2010 and saw combat in Afghanistan a year later. The case also had two pistols with silencers, the drawn map, ammunition, and notes on President Trump’s publicized travel itinerary.

CID seized the van and took “James” and “Butler” to an undisclosed location for interrogation, our source said, adding that President Donald J. Trump was immediately made aware of the situation and again encouraged to postpone his speech—should additional assailants lurk elsewhere nearby. But Trump would have none of it. He agreed to added protection but refused to shirk his responsibilities to MAGA and the United States of America. He said his oration would continue as scheduled, and he will speak tonight, delivering what MAGA says will be a passionate Magnum Opus.

According to our source, White Hats identified one suspect as a member of Ukraine’s Intelligence Directorate who entered the U.S. with forged credentials 10 days ago. How or where they obtained the rifle is unclear.

“We know one thing for sure, President Trump plans to stop funding Ukraine’s aggression. That alone might be reason enough for them to take a pop shot at him. We’re doing whatever’s needed to get a full confession,” our source said.

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Truth : CID Did Not Foil Ukrainian Plot To Assassinate Donald Trump!

The truth is – this is just another fake story created by Real Raw News, just to generate page views and money.

Fact #1 : Donald Trump Is No Longer President

Let me just start by pointing out that Donald Trump is no longer the President of the United States. He has not been President since he lost the election and left the White House on 20 January 2021.

Yet, the Real Raw News article kept referring to him as President Donald Trump, instead of former President Donald Trump, or just Donald Trump.

Fact #2 : No Plot To Assassinate Donald Trump Was Recently Foiled

While many people dislike Donald Trump, and quite a few would like to see him dead, there is no known recent plot to assassinate the former president.

If any US agency ever foiled a plot to assassinate any former President, it would have been major news. Yet no legitimate news agency in the United States, or anywhere else in the world, reported on such a shocking development?

More so if the Ukrainian Intelligence Directorate was actually implicated in such an assassination plot. The Kremlin and its propaganda machine (and its useful idiots) would have actively promoted the story! Yet there was not even a squeak.

Even Donald Trump himself never said anything about an assassination plot. If it really did happen, he would have talked about it non-stop. Yet he said nothing of the sort.

That’s because it never happened. No one foiled a plot by the Ukrainian Intelligence Directorate to assassinate Donald Trump in February 2024.

Fact #3 : US Army CID Has No Power Over Civilians

The claim that the US Army CID officers foiled a plot to assassinate Donald Trump is absurd.

The Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID) is the law enforcement agency for the US Army. The civilian justice system is separate from the military justice system. CID officers can only investigate felony crimes and serious violations of military law within the US Army!

US Army CID officers would not be “shadowing” any American politician, or former Presidents. Not only is that not within their job scope, they don’t even have the authority to do that!

Fact #4 : US Army CID Officers Cannot Arrest Anyone

US Army CID officers are not law enforcement officers. They are really more like detectives who investigate serious crimes in the US Army.

They don’t even have the power to charge anyone with crimes. They just investigate allegations, and turn over their official findings to the appropriate US Army command and legal authority for further action.

Fact #5 : Real Raw News Is A Fake News Website

Real Raw News is a fake news website that capitalises on making shocking but fake stories to generate page views and money.

To protect himself from legal repercussions, the owner and writer, Michael Baxter (real name – Michael Tuffin), claims that his articles are “humour, parody, and satire“.

That disclaimer, which is not clearly mentioned in his articles, lets him keep creating fake news to go viral, and generate money.

A March 2018 screenshot of Michael Tuffin, who goes by the pseudonym Michael Baxter

His articles have been regularly debunked as fake news, so you should NEVER share anything from his website. Here are some of his fake stories that I debunked earlier:

Everything posted by Real Raw News should be regarded as FAKE NEWS, until proven otherwise.

Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!

Please Support My Work!

Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!

Name : Adrian Wong
Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp

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.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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Did Navy SEALs Kill Two Mar-a-Lago Intruders?!

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Did US Navy SEALs just kill two intruders at Donald Trump’s residence of Mar-a-Lago?! Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!

Claim : Navy SEALs Just Killed Mar-a-Lago Intruders!

On 29 January 2024, Real Raw News posted an article (archive) claiming that US Navy SEALs just arrested and killed two intruders at Donald Trump’s residence of Mar-a-Lago!

As usual, the article is long, rambling and confusing, so here is an excerpt. Please feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!

White Hats Kill Mar-a-Lago Intruder

President Donald J. Trump’s military security force on Saturday engaged two intruders who tripped a Mar-a-Lago proximity alarm on the Lake Worth Lagoon side of the estate, Mar-a-Lago sources told Real Raw News.

At approximately 2:00 a.m., sensors detected human movement near the estate’s tennis courts, which ought to have been devoid of activity at that hour. The US Navy SEALs protecting Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Command Center determined that two unknowns had surfaced from the shallow lagoon and climbed the wall onto Trump’s property.

The SEALs immediately fanned out to flank the intruders, who by then were slinking behind palm trees and sticking to the shadows, trying to evade the spread of floodlights that suddenly illuminated the expansive estate. Now visible on camera, the unknowns, dressed in wetsuits, were circuitously moving toward the main building, but the SEALs, receiving updates from the security center, intercepted them and commanded them to drop what they were holding and put up their hands.

Instead of surrendering, one unsealed a waterproof pouch and pulled out a pistol. A SEAL sniper atop a roof put a round in his head.

Meanwhile, the second unknown spun around and sprinted to the lagoon while unzipping a pouch in his left hand. He managed a few long strides before realizing he was surrounded and could not escape.

When the SEALs ordered him to put his weapon on the ground, he put the barrel in his mouth, curled his finger around the trigger, and blew out his brains. Besides weapons, the assailants had pouches holding an SD card reader, USB cables, and locksmith tools.

“We think they wanted to access servers here, you know, that might contain sensitive information. But our systems have strong protection…we’re working to identify these men,” our source said.

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Truth : Navy SEALs Did Not Kill Any Mar-a-Lago Intruder!

The truth is – this is just another fake story created by Real Raw News, just to generate page views and money.

Fact #1 : There Were No Intruders At Mar-a-Lago

This is really silly, but it has to be said – no intruders attempted to breach security at Mar-a-Lago in January 2024.

If any intruder was ever caught trespassing at Mar-a-Lago, it would have been covered by news media all over the world, not just by a known fake news website.

Yet, no legitimate media outlet reported such an amazing story? That’s because it never happened. It was all made up.

Fact #2 : Mar-a-Lago Is Not Protected By US Military

Real Raw News claimed that Mar-a-Lago was protected by US Navy SEALs. That’s utter nonsense. SEALs are the US Navy’s primary special operations force, and are never assigned to protect civilians, or property.

US President Joe Biden, as well as all former US presidents, are never protected by the military. Instead, they are all protected by the US Secret Service.

Recommended : Did George Soros Just Suffer A Stroke At WEF 2024?!

Fact #3 : Real Raw News Is A Fake News Website

Real Raw News is a fake news website that capitalises on making shocking but fake stories to generate page views and money.

To protect himself from legal repercussions, the owner and writer, Michael Baxter (real name – Michael Tuffin), claims that his articles are “humour, parody, and satire“.

That disclaimer, which is not clearly mentioned in his articles, lets him keep creating fake news to go viral, and generate money.

Recommended : Was Lloyd Austin Just Killed In Ukraine?!

A March 2018 screenshot of Michael Tuffin, who goes by the pseudonym Michael Baxter

His articles have been regularly debunked as fake news, so you should NEVER share anything from his website. Here are some of his fake stories that I debunked earlier:

Everything posted by Real Raw News should be regarded as FAKE NEWS, until proven otherwise.

Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!

Please Support My Work!

Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!

Name : Adrian Wong
Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp

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.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

Recommended Reading

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Please support us by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or donating to our fund. Thank you!