Italian journalist misidentified as Trump rally shooter
- Published on July 16, 2024 at 16:20
- 3 min read
- By Gundula HAAGE, AFP Germany, AFP USA
- Translation and adaptation Daniel GALGANO
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"BREAKING: Butler Police Department confirms the arrest of Mark Violets, identified as the Trump shooter and a known antifa extremist. Before the attack, he uploaded a video on YouTube claiming 'justice was coming,'" says text in an image shared July 13, 2024 on X.
Similar claims have spread elsewhere on X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok -- including in German, French, Persian, Spanish and Indonesian.
A gunman opened fire at a July 13 Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, hitting Trump in the ear, killing one bystander and critically injuring two other attendees before a Secret Service sniper team shot and killed him.
The FBI has named Crooks, 20, as the suspected shooter -- not a man named "Mark Violets," as the posts online claim (archived here).
A reverse image search revealed the man in the photos is Italian sports journalist Marco Violi, who runs a blog called Roma Giallorossa and has appeared in numerous YouTube videos (archived here and here).
Violi confirmed in a statement on Instagram that he is the man featured in the posts, but he "categorically" denied having any connection to the attempted Trump assassination (archived here).
"I am in Italy, I am in Rome, and I didn't have the slightest idea about what had happened," he said in the Italian statement.
"The news that has been circulating about me is totally baseless and is organised by a group of haters who have been ruining my life since 2018, even with stakeouts next to my home, photos of my intercom and my front door."
Violi said he plans to lodge complaints against X accounts that have spread the false claim and asked people to "leave me alone."
"Being a journalist since 2006, I know very well that one must verify all sources before slamming an alleged monster on the front page," he said.
The FBI is investigating the motives behind the attempted assassination of Trump. News reports indicate Crooks was a registered Republican but that he previously gave money to a progressive political action committee.
Antifa, a loose coalition of anti-fascist activists that US conservatives commonly blame for unrest, has previously been the subject of numerous conspiracy theories.
AFP has debunked other false claims surrounding Trump’s attempted assassination here and here.
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