Altered Trump shooting photo revives baseless 'inside job' claims

"Apparently Secret Service agents are now on leave as the investigation grows," says text over an August 24, 2024 TikTok video sharing an image of the agents whisking Trump off stage.

"Trump apparently never went to the hospital?!?! Someone made a great point - none of these Secret Service agents have their earpieces in..."

Image

Screenshot from TikTok taken August 26, 2024

The same text and picture spread across platforms such as X, with one user promoting it to claim the attack was staged and "the Secret Service was in on it."

The posts echo "inside job" conspiracy theories that have proliferated online since a gunman, identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, opened fire at a July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, killing one spectator, injuring two and hitting the Republican presidential nominee in the ear.

Investigations into the security failures and potential communication lapses that allowed Crooks to shoot at Trump from a nearby rooftop are ongoing. Multiple US Secret Service agents have been placed on leave over the attempted assassination, according to media reports.

But the picture purporting to show Trump's security detail without earpieces appears to be altered.

A reverse image search surfaced the original photo taken by Getty Images photographer Anna Moneymaker. Headsets appear behind the ears of several Secret Service agents who rushed to Trump's side (archived here).

Image

Screenshot from Getty Images taken August 27, 2024

Other photos show some of the agents whose wires are not visible in Moneymaker's photo wearing them on the opposite ear (archived here, here, here and here).

"Our agents were wearing standard US Secret Service equipment, which includes earpieces," spokesperson Nate Herring told AFP in an August 26 email.

AFP photos from the event also show Secret Service personnel wearing earpieces.

Image

Republican candidate Donald Trump is surrounded by Secret Service agents as he is taken off the stage at a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024 (AFP / Rebecca DROKE)

Image

Republican candidate Donald Trump is surrounded by Secret Service agents at a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024 (AFP / Rebecca DROKE)

Trump was taken to nearby Butler Memorial Hospital for treatment after the shooting.

AFP has debunked other misinformation about the assassination attempt here.