Fact-Check: Sports Journalist Misidentified as Donald Trump’s Shooter in Assassination Attempt

By: Mustapha Lawal

Claim

A picture shows Mark Violet, a “known Antifa extremist”, who has been identified as the Donald Trump shooter and arrested by Butler Police Department.

Verdict 

False! The man pictured is an Italian sports journalist identified as Marco Violi, who confirmed he was in Rome during the attack in Pennsylvania on 13 July. However, the FBI has named 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks as the “subject involved” in the attempted assassination of Trump, and he was shot at the scene. 

Full Text 

The former US President and Presidential Candidate,  Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt with a bullet wound to his ear on 13th July in Butler, Pennsylvania. The attack had one of the spectators, Corey Comperatore killed and two others seriously injured.

Following the incident, various claims and speculations have been making rounds in posts on social media platforms. One such is the claim that a man, later identified to be an Italian sports journalist was claimed to be the shooter responsible for the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.

Some users online have wrongly named the attacker as “Mark Violets” and claimed he is a known “Antifa” extremist. Antifa is a catch-all term for a loosely affiliated group of far-left anti-fascism activists.

The Posts feature an image of a man in sunglasses on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, with captions and posts that say: 

“BREAKING: Butler Police Department confirms the arrest of the #Trump shooter identified as Mark Violets, a known Antifa extremist. He uploaded a video on YouTube before the attack, claiming ‘justice was coming.’”

FactCheckAfrica decided to work on this FactCheck because the news is making waves on the continent and the significant focus and stake African democracy has in the US elections. 

Verification

Upon verification of the image attached to the post, FactCheckAfrica found that the man pictured is not who is claimed, and he has no involvement in the attack on the former president. He is an Italian sports journalist called Marco Violi.

Furthermore, We found that the FBI has named Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as the “subject involved” in the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump. 

Some of the posts being shared have also falsely claimed that the suspect in the shooting was arrested, however, US officials have confirmed that Crooks was shot dead at the scene. 

Also, after being falsely linked to the shooting, Mr Violi posted a statement on his Instagram page on 14 July, which said [translated by Google]: “I categorically deny that I am involved in this situation.”

Mr Violi also said he was in Rome Italy, not in the US and had learned about the shooting on television news. It was also confirmed that the background of the image being shared also appears in previous videos he appeared in on YouTube.

Conclusion

FactCheckAfrica found the claim to be false. The man pictured is an Italian sports journalist identified as Marco Violi, who has confirmed he was in Rome during the attack in Pennsylvania on 13 July. The FBI has named 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks as the “subject involved” in the attempted assassination of Trump, and he was shot at the scene.

Edited by Habeeb Adisa