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Quick Take
The actions of the Secret Service at the Pennsylvania rally where former President Donald Trump was wounded in an assassination attempt are under review. But social media posts show an altered photo to falsely claim agents were smiling while moving Trump to safety. The original Associated Press photo shows the agents weren’t smiling.
Full Story
President Joe Biden has called for an independent review and members of Congress plan an investigation into security measures taken — particularly by the Secret Service — at the July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where former President Donald Trump was wounded in an attempted assassination.
The Secret Service, whose duties include the protection of the president, is being questioned regarding preparations for the event, the size of the security perimeter and how the shooter, identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was able to get access to a rooftop near the rally stage. Crooks, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, was killed by Secret Service snipers at the scene. One man attending the rally was killed, and two others were injured during the shooting, Pennsylvania State Police said.
Video of the assassination attempt shows Trump addressing the crowd and reacting as a bullet strikes him in the ear, followed by Secret Service agents surrounding him and slowly helping him up and off the stage. Before being moved off the stage, Trump can be seen raising a fist in the air.
That image of Trump’s gesture has been altered, however, in social media posts to falsely show two of the agents smiling as they assisted Trump and to claim the incident was “STAGED.”
A July 14 Threads post shows the altered image with a caption that says, “Why are the secret service smiling? STAGED.”
A video in a July 14 Instagram post shows several photos from the shooting — including two versions of the image of Trump with his fist raised as the agents help him. One accurately shows the agents with concerned expressions on their faces, and the other, altered image shows them smiling. The narrator of the video claims, “Something doesn’t look right. … Is it fake?”
What is fake is the altered image of the Secret Service agents smiling.
The original image showing Trump raising his fist as the agents move him off the stage was taken by Associated Press photographer Evan Vucci, whose photos in the immediate aftermath of the shooting were published by the AP on July 14. The caption on the original photo reads: “Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci).”
The social media posts use a doctored version of that AP photo to make the false claim about the agents. The original photo shows the agents with concerned looks on their faces.
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle issued a statement on July 15 about the actions of agents on the scene in Butler and the investigation of the incident. Cheatle said, in part: “Secret Service personnel on the ground moved quickly during the incident, with our counter sniper team neutralizing the shooter and our agents implementing protective measures to ensure the safety of former president Donald Trump.”
“The Secret Service is working with all involved Federal, state and local agencies to understand what happened, how it happened, and how we can prevent an incident like this from ever taking place again. We understand the importance of the independent review announced by President Biden yesterday and will participate fully. We will also work with the appropriate Congressional committees on any oversight action,” Cheatle also said.
Editor’s note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizations working with Facebook to debunk misinformation shared on social media. Our previous stories can be found here. Facebook has no control over our editorial content.
Sources
Associated Press. “AP PHOTOS: Shooting at Trump rally in Pennsylvania.” Updated 14 Jul 2024.
Associated Press. “Video captures shooting at Trump rally.” 13 Jul 2024.
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. “Pennsylvania State Police Identify Victims Shot During Attempted Assassination of Former President Trump.” 14 Jul 2024.
Kanno-Young, Zolan, et al. “Secret Service Under Scrutiny After Assassination Attempt on Trump.” New York Times. 14 Jul 2024.
Tolan, Casey. “What we know about the Trump rally gunman so far.” CNN 14 Jul 2024.
Tsirkin, Julie, et al. “Congress demands answers from Secret Service after Trump assassination attempt.” NBC News. 14 Jul 2024.
United States Secret Service. About Us. “Protecting Leaders.” Accessed 15 Jul 2024.
United States Secret Service. “Statement From U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle.” 15 Jul 2024.
Wild, Whitney, Evan Perez and Tierney Sneed. “Secret Service faces serious questions about security footprint and rooftop access at Trump Event.” CNN. 15 Jul 2024.