According to the official version of events, Thomas Crooks acted alone when he climbed onto a rooftop and shot Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, wounding the former president.
The problem is that Americans don’t believe the official narrative.
A DailyMail.com/TIPP poll shows voters, by a wide margin, say Crooks, 20, was not operating alone in the attack in Butler, Pennsylvania, and was part of a larger conspiracy.
A staggering 67 percent of those surveyed said they believed the shooting was part of a plot or that they were unsure exactly what happened on July 13.
More than a quarter of respondents also said a second shooter attempted to attack Trump.
67 percent of respondents did not subscribe to the official version of events.
A blood-covered Donald Trump raised his fist after being shot in the ear by a sniper eight minutes after taking the stage at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The national survey of nearly 1,500 adults conducted earlier this month shows how Americans are increasingly doubting official narratives and subscribing to alternative versions of reality, which spread rapidly on social media.
Concerns about the shooting are no doubt heightened by the Secret Service’s failure to adequately protect Trump, including by failing to secure a rooftop so close to his podium.
Crooks, a nursing home assistant, attempted to kill the 78-year-old man by firing an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle from a rooftop 150 yards from his stage.
Trump was shot in the right ear and a 50-year-old man was killed. Two other spectators were seriously injured.
Crooks, a registered Republican, was shot and killed at the scene by a Secret Service sniper.
He left few clues about his beliefs or what motivated him to open fire at the rally.
Within minutes of the shooting, social media users were wondering what had happened and coming up with their own theories.
Actress Amanda Seales was among those who suggested Trump’s campaign staged the attack so the candidate could appear triumphant and win more votes in the November election.
“That shit was more staged than a Tyler Perry production,” Insecure star Seales said.
The gunshots sounded more like “popcorn,” he added, and the blood running down Trump’s face was from “buckshot” used by movie makeup artists.
Meanwhile, on the political right, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones pushed the baseless claim that the attack was an assassination attempt by the “deep state” and a “failed coup.”
That theory was amplified on Proud Boys channels and gained traction in the weeks that followed.
Eli Crane, an Arizona Republican, and other members of the GOP have suggested the shooting was part of a coordinated campaign by Democrats or shadowy actors in government to try to prevent Trump from reclaiming the White House.
Online theorists have claimed that Crooks was not the sole shooter, but that there was a second gunman near the rally site.
Some claimed there was another person on top of a water tower.
Other theorists have focused on an unidentified woman in the crowd, wearing sunglasses, a white shirt and a black hat, who appeared calm and collected as gunshots rang out at the rally.
Actress Amanda Seales posted a video online claiming the attempted assassination of Donald Trump that killed one man and injured others was staged.
Nearly half of respondents say they are certain only one shooter targeted Donald Trump at the rally
Secret Service agents rushed onto the stage and pushed Trump to the ground after shots were fired.
While everyone else, including Trump, crouched to the ground fearing for their lives, the woman could be seen pulling out her phone and beginning to film the event.
Many of the claims about the shooting first emerged on fringe social media platforms like 4chan before migrating to larger sites like X or TikTok, where they were seen by many more people.
Many of these rumors may contain exaggerations, lack of context or outright falsehoods that evolve into conspiracy theories.
The misleading information is then amplified by online trolls, politicians, influencers and people trying to sell products linked to the attempted murder.
With few safeguards to stop online misinformation, such claims can spread quickly, impacting upcoming elections and even persisting for years.
Congressional leaders have created a bipartisan task force to investigate the attack, and some top Republican lawmakers, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, have urged their colleagues to “tone down the rhetoric.”
Johnson says he attributes the shooting to ineptitude and not any coordinated effort to kill Trump.
Our poll shows that most Americans doubt or question the official narrative.
Nearly half of those surveyed (45 percent) say Crooks was not working alone and that others were involved in the plot.
Only 33 percent said Crooks was working alone and 22 percent said they were unsure.
That amounts to a shocking two-thirds of Americans not accepting the version of events presented by the authorities.
Younger Americans and Republicans were more likely than others to suspect a conspiracy.
In a separate question, about 27 percent of voters said they believed a second shooter was involved in the attack.
Another 46 percent said this was not the case, and 27 percent said they were unsure.
The poll has a margin of error of +/-2.7 percent. It was conducted in early August by TIPP, which is known for the accuracy of its surveys.
