WIRED Politics Lab: The Shooting, Conspiracies, and Calls for War after the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election
Conspiracy theories went nuts after Donald Trump was shot at a campaign rally. Today on WIRED Politics Lab, we discuss the subsequent calls for violence and civil war, and the way that militias are recruiting off of the incident. Plus, we report from the Republican National Convention on the reaction to Trump’s vice presidential nominee, Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio.
She is called@LeahFeiger. David Gilbert is @DaithaiGilbert. Kelly Makena is a person. Send your letter to politicslab@ WIRED.com. The Politics Lab newsletter is written by WIRED.
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Source: The Trump Shooting, Conspiracies, and Calls for War
What’s going on with the Biden era? What the FBI is saying about a possible assassination attempt on President Donald Trump
If you’re just joining us right now, as if this campaign couldn’t get better, what law enforcement officials are investigating as a possible assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
Secret Service agents scramble onstage, shielding Trump and yelling, “Get down!” There are more shots being heard. Federal law enforcement officials rush onto the stage.
July 13, 6:57 p.m. ET: Republicans and Democrats begin weighing in with statements on X and other topics an hour and a half after the shooting because they haven’t found out what the motive is for the attack. One of the first was from a member of congress that suggested charges should be brought against Biden for inciting an assassination.
The person is Leah Feiger. David Gilbert is a reporter from WIRED and I’ll talk about everything that happened while we chat with Makena Kelly, who is at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. David, you have been incredibly busy since Saturday.
The Case for the July 13 Assassination of a Republican Presidential Candidate, Thomas Matthew Crooks, at the Butler Farm Show
The July 13 attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump has stunned the country as it approaches Election Day on Nov. 5. The events surrounding the shooting of Trump at a political rally in Pennsylvania have been covered here.
Over several months prior to the July 13 attack on former President Donald Trump, the man ultimately identified as the shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, receives multiple packages at his Bethel Park, Pa., home that are marked “hazardous material,” according to The New York Times, citing a federal law enforcement memo.
Also, at some point prior to the rally, the National Security Council warns the U.S. Secret Service and the Trump campaign of an increased threat to Trump coming from Iran, and the Secret Service boosts protection for Trump in light of that, a national security official confirms to NPR. It’s unclear exactly when the warning is issued.
July 12: The Sportsmen’s Club, where the man is a member, is located in Clairton. The club is located near his home in Bethel Park, about 50 miles south of Butler, the site where the Trump rally is to be held. A federal intelligence report explains how Crooks practices at the rifle range.
July 13: Crooks searches online for a local gun store, where he buys 50 rounds of ammunition for an AR-style rifle that his father had purchased in 2013, according to the AP. The rally is to take place in the grounds of the Butler Farm Show, and Crooks parked his car outside.
Source: Trump’s close call: A detailed time line
The First State Sensitive General Relativity Event: Donald Trump and a Demonstration of State Police Integrity
July 13, 6:05 p.m. ET: Trump acknowledges that “this is a big, beautiful crowd” at the rally. In the first few minutes of the speech, the focus is on President Biden’s record and immigration.
July 13 is July 13th. As Trump is speaking, he turns to his right, suddenly stops talking and reaches for his right ear. As three shots ring out, the former president crouches behind the lectern.
The news release says that no one was found in a subsequent search, but that “A Butler Township officer attempted to gain access to the roof by being hoisted up by an assisting officer. The officer was pulling himself up to the roof when he saw a person pointing a rifle at him.
A news release issued days later by Tom Knights, the Butler Township manager, says that as Trump arrived, “a call went out for a suspicious male” near the building and that “several officers broke free from their traffic intersections of responsibility and responded to the area to aid in the search.”
“The officer was in a defenseless position and there was no way he could engage the actor while holding onto the roof edge,” the news release says, adding that the officer “immediately communicated the individual’s location and that he was in possession of a weapon. The individual began firing moments later.
A 50-year-old former fire chief, Corey Comperatore, is hit by one or more of the gunman’s bullets. Two other rally-goers, David Dutch and James Copenhaver, are seriously wounded. Comperatore was declared dead.
The counter assault team shot and killed Crooks with a shot to the head. An agent says after the first shot is fired that it is a good idea to shoot down.
July 13, 8:42 p.m You can do it. Trump wrote on Truth Social, “I felt the bullet ripping through the skin as I heard a whizzing sound, shots and immediately felt a wounded ear.”
July 13, 6:13 p.m. We’re going to go The former president is helped to his feet by Secret Service agents. He’s heard saying: “Wait, I want to get my shoes.” There is blood on his ear and cheek. After seeing the crowd, Trump raised his fist and said “fight” three times, as he was led from the dais.
July 13, about 6:50 p.m. ET: A spokesperson for Trump says the former president “is fine” after the attack. Trump is evaluated and treated at nearby Butler Memorial Hospital, according to CBS.
July 13th, 7 pm. Chuck Schumer, the Majority Leader of the Senate from NY, posted on X that he was relieved that Trump is safe and horrified by what happened at the Pennsylvania rally. Political violence has no place in our country.”
July 13, 7:31 p.m. ET: Nancy Pelosi wrote in a post that she knows firsthand that political violence is not in our society. I thank God that former President Trump is safe.”
Source: Trump’s close call: A detailed time line
The Second Donald Trump Shooting — A Secret Service Account of an Assassination of a New VP: Sen. JD Vance
On the first night of the Republican National Convention, Donald Trump and his new VP, Sen.JD Vance, appeared together.
July 13 at 8:49 pm. ET: Anthony Guglielmi, the chief of communications for the Secret Service, posts on X: The gunman “fired multiple shots toward the stage from an elevated position outside of the rally venue. US Secret Service personnel neutralized the shooter, who is now deceased.”
July 13, 9:00 p.m. The time is 11:44 Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., posts on X: “Let’s be clear: This was an assassination attempt aided and abetted by the radical Left and corporate media incessantly calling Trump a threat to democracy, fascists, or worse.”
July 13: A search of Crooks’ car and home after the shooting on Saturday finds two improvised explosive devices in his car and one in his Bethel Park home.
July 14, 1:32 a.m. ET: The FBI officially identifies Crooks as the shooter. The records show he was a registered Republican in Pennsylvania and donated to ActBlue in the year 2020.
The FBI told reporters on Sunday that the weapon used in the attack was an “AR-style rifle” that was purchased legally. “We do not know specifically how he accessed the weapon and whether he took it without his father’s knowledge,” Kevin Rojek, special agent in charge of the Pittsburgh Field Office, says.
Source: Trump’s close call: A detailed time line
The Unthinkable Happened During a Black Hole Shooting: Pauli Biden and the “Thermodynamics” of His Close Call
July 14, 7:11 a.m. This is ET. Posting on Truth Social, Trump says of the attempt on his life, “it was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening.”
July 14, 2:05 p.m. ET: Biden said he spoke with Trump the night before and was grateful that he was doing well. He conveyed his sympathies to Comperatore’s family and wished for the recovery of the two injured men. We don’t have any information regarding the motive of the shooter at this time. We know who he is. I urge everyone to not make assumptions about his motives or affiliations.
July 14, 8:02 p.m. ET: Biden encouraged Americans to remember that they are not enemies in an address to the nation. He says that the temperature in politics needs to be lowered.
Source: Trump’s close call: A detailed time line
NPR Observations of the Clinton Era: FBI Detection of a Counterattack on a Candidate Biden in a Corrupt Campaign
July 18: NPR confirms that the FBI has been reviewing the contents of Crooks’ electronic devices, including a laptop and two cellphones — one his primary phone and a second one found at his home. 27 people are being tracked down because the primary phone has 27 contacts saved on it. He had saved images of Biden, Trump, Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Christopher Wray and the Princess of Wales (the former Kate Middleton). He also searched “major depressive disorder.”
In an NBC interview, Biden says that he made a mistake by saying it’s time to put Trump in the crosshairs of his campaign.
July 19: The chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., says Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle will testify at a July 22 hearing at 10 a.m. ET. “Americans want answers from the Director about the Secret Service’s historic security failures that resulted in the attempted assassination of President Trump and the murder of an innocent victim, as well as the harm to others in the crowd,” said Comer.
July 17: Local police officers who worked the rally tell NPR they’re fielding a barrage of hostile calls from people, some of whom have bought into conspiracy theories. They just want to call us cowardice if we don’t do our job. “We did our job,” says Sgt. Tony Sawl of the Butler County Sheriff’s Office. Hopefully the truth will come out and we can learn from it.
Source: Trump’s close call: A detailed time line
Almighty God’s Grace is Not a Powerful Power of the Infinite-Momentum, but of the One Whose
“Not supposed to be here. … I thank you, but I’m not, and I’ll tell you, I stand before you in this arena only by the grace of Almighty God,” he says.