Trump Claims Butler Assassination Attempt Was Democrat Plot
Left 50%
Center 0%
Right 50%
1 left · 0 center · 1 right
What happened
On July 13, 2024, Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire from a rooftop at a Donald Trump campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, striking Trump in the ear, killing firefighter Corey Comperatore, and wounding James Copenhaver and David Dutch; Crooks was killed at the scene. On Tuesday, President Trump posted that the attempt was a "Democrat Plot" to get him out of the election that failed, that most of the information was "missing, altered, corrupted, or gone" by the time he took office on January 20, 2025, that "New info was just found," and that former FBI Director Christopher Wray should "pay a price." FBI Director Kash Patel testified the same day that the bureau found "no evidence that that individual was literally even speaking to any other human being other than his parents." Attorney General Todd Blanche said the new material was "about the shooter and about his background, about his history," produced in response to a Senate inquiry, and, asked whether anyone would be punished, said "The Department of Justice doesn't punish." Fox News and The New York Post reported federal documents indicating Crooks used the alias "Bob Dole" to receive packages and that an anonymous donor paid for his cremation; ABC News said it had not independently reviewed those documents.
Sourcing check · Fully on the record · 2 articles
2 of 2 articles cite a named source for the story. It was on the record from the first report.
What these terms mean and how they're counted
- On the record · names a source 2 of 2
- On the record means the article cites a source by name for the story's main claim: a person, or an institution speaking officially, such as a company statement or a named agency's spokesperson. The opposite is an unnamed source. The count is how many of the counted articles cite at least one such source; the names are everyone named across them, each once however the articles spell it. Here: Donald Trump, Kash Patel and Todd Blanche
- Primary evidence · cites a document or data 0 of 2
- Primary evidence means the article cites a record you could check yourself: a court filing or ruling, a dataset or report, a recording or transcript, an official statement or press release, market data. A quote is not a document. The count is how many articles cite one. Here: None cited.
- Credits another outlet 0 of 2
- The article says the story comes from another outlet's reporting (“first reported by Reuters”). Those articles relay the story; they are not independent confirmation. Here: Each article presents its own reporting.
- Unnamed sources 0 of 2
- The main claim is attributed to people who are not identified: “people familiar with the matter”, “officials said”. The count is how many articles do this.
- How it developed
- When the first report landed and whether it named anyone; when the first named source and the first document appeared. Here: First report Sep 15, 18:44 UTC by Breitbart, naming its source.
- Not counted 0
- Opinion, analysis and video pieces, and articles too short to assess. Every count above is out of the counted articles. An article republished under a new headline is one article.
This is about who is cited, not whether the story is true. Each source below says what it names. How we count
Omitted — what each side leaves out
Unpacked
The coverage split that changes the story is whether investigators found a plot at all. Left-leaning coverage reports that FBI Director Kash Patel told a Senate panel the bureau found no connections between the suspect and others. Attorney General Todd Blanche likewise gave no evidence of a plot and said the new files concerned the shooter's background. Right-leaning coverage repeats Trump's charge and a Fox account of an alias and a paid cremation, without those statements, leaving the left-leaning write-up more complete on whether a plot was found.
Left-leaning coverage opens on the absence of proof. Right-leaning coverage opens on the claim that new information was just found, then on packages taken in under another name and on a senator saying the public still knows little about the gunman.
What in the newly located files is supposed to show a Democratic plot?
Bottom line
A reader of only Breitbart would not learn that Kash Patel told the Senate the Butler gunman had no partners.
The receipts — 4 facts one side's coverage lacks
- Attorney General Todd Blanche refused to offer evidence of a plot and said the new information concerned the shooter's background and history
- Firefighter Corey Comperatore was killed shielding his wife and daughter; James Copenhaver and David Dutch were injured
- Sen. Mike Lee said the American people still know very little about Thomas Crooks
- Christopher Wray resigned before the second inauguration because he feared that being fired could cause turmoil in the FBI
The Left View
ABC News framed Trump's allegation as an "extraordinary claim" made "without showing evidence." It highlighted Patel's testimony that investigators found no connections between Crooks and others, and Blanche's refusal when pressed to offer evidence of a plot—pointing only to newly produced background on the shooter. The outlet noted Trump's demand that Wray "pay a price," including over Wray's earlier comment that it was initially unclear whether Trump was hit by a bullet, and Blanche's reply that the Justice Department "doesn't punish." ABC also stated that the Fox News and New York Post reports on the "Bob Dole" alias and anonymous cremation payment did not report evidence of a conspiracy, and that ABC had not independently reviewed those documents.
The Right View
Breitbart presented Trump's post as charging that the "Crooked Joe Biden FBI didn't do what they should have" regarding the shooter, that records were "missing, altered, corrupted, or gone," and that the attempt was a "Democrat Plot" that failed, with "New info" only now found. It featured a Fox News report that Crooks received packages under the name "Bob Dole" and that an "anonymous donor" paid for his cremation. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) was quoted saying that more than two years later "the American people still know very little about Thomas Crooks."
Our Take (balanced)
The left's strongest argument is that the plot claim is unevidenced: Patel testified the FBI found no sign Crooks communicated with anyone besides his parents, and Blanche, pressed on a plot, cited only new background on the shooter. The right's strongest argument is that the investigative record itself is incomplete—Trump's assertion that files were missing or altered, the Fox/Post documents on an alias and an anonymous cremation payment, and Lee's point that the public still knows little about Crooks. The central unresolved tension is whether those gaps and odd details amount to a political conspiracy, or whether the lack of any identified co-conspirator means the "Democrat Plot" allegation has not been substantiated.
2 sources
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