In the wake of the failed assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally on Saturday, speculation of negligence and even malice by the Secret Service has emerged.
Trump was injured Saturday when a gunman perched on a roof about 150 yards from the stage opened fire. Secret Service countersnipers took out the suspect, a 20-year-old man from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.
In a viral post, a man describing himself as a Secret Service agent claimed that he was ordered not to engage even after the shooter was identified as an active threat. The post, which on Sunday morning originated on 4chan—an anonymous online message board—quickly spread to mainstream social media sites including Facebook and X.
No evidence exists that Secret Service members were told not to fire on the shooter.
In the post, an anonymous user claims to be one of two Secret Service marksmen positioned on a roof behind Trump during his speech. “My name is Jonathan Willis, I’m the officer in the famous photo of the two snipers on the roof at Trump’s rally,” the post reads. According to the user, despite having his weapon aimed at the eventual shooter for at least three minutes, Secret Service leadership prevented him from firing on the target. “I came here to inform the public that I had the assassin in my sights for at least 3 minutes, but the head of the secret service refused to give the order to take out the perp. 100% the top brass prevented me from killing the assassin before he took the shots at president Trump.”
Further in the thread, the user asserts that he disobeyed orders by returning fire and was released from the Secret Service because of it. “I didn’t follow the orders though, as soon as the shooter opened on Trump I returned fire despite strict orders to not engage. I had eyes on the shooter for three minutes watching him fiddle with his rifle and adjust the scope, it was obvious he was a shooter yet I wasn’t allowed to engage. After I killed the shooter I was arrested, questioned by the FBI, and just released an hour ago. Already lost my job for not following orders, but I’m glad I took the shots anyway.”
There is no evidence that the user was a member of the Secret Service, and the name ‘Jonathan Willis’ appears to be made up. “This claim is categorically false,” Secret Service spokesman Nate Herring told The Dispatch Fact Check when shown the posts. “There is no U.S. Secret Service employee by that name.” The Pennsylvania State Police, who provided additional security during the rally, also confirmed to The Dispatch Fact Check via email that there is no ‘Jonathan Willis’ in their force.
On Sunday, President Joe Biden said that he had ordered an independent review of the shooting. Secret Service Director Kimberly Chatle said in a Monday statement that the agency would cooperate with the independent review and any congressional investigations. “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,” Cheatle said. “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.”
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