Former President Donald Trump was grazed by a bullet today in an assassination attempt that left him bloodied and the nation as divided as ever.
On the left, people immediately accused the incident of being staged, saying that Trump found a way to barely avoid being killed to improve his electoral chances.
But supporters of Trump have taken a different (albeit somewhat similar) line of attack, claiming the Secret Service allowed it to happen.
Pictures and videos of the incident that have emerged in the hours since have helped fuel their claims, pointing to the spot the alleged gunman set up, and a Secret Service member they claim ignored the shooter.
Google Images from the field Trump held the rally in in Butler, Pennsylvania show the roof the alleged shooter—who was killed—reportedly fired from.
Trump fans were aghast that an armed person could get that close to the rally.
“You’re telling me the Secret Service let a guy climb up on a roof with a rifle only 150 yards from Trump? Inside job,” wrote the pro-Trump Hodgetwins on X.
Responses to the post swiftly agreed.
“It was an inside job,” wrote @WallStreetApes.
“This was allowed to happen. They tried to impeach, convict, arrest and now assassinate! They won’t stop. This is a fight for the Republic! Buckle up Patriots!,” added another.
“Seems that way, especially how they were ignoring the guy frantically trying to warn them,” another said, pointing to an interview with a rallygoer who said they attempted to warn police.
In the interview, the rallygoer said they saw the person with a rifle and tried to point him out to police, but they were too confused to respond. They said the alleged shooter was up there for three to four minutes.
One unconfirmed account claimed a person was walking around with a rifle before the attack.
Prominent Trump supporter and online conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer echoed the claim it was an inside job.
“How does someone get in a building unidentified with a rifle and make it to the rooftop? @SecretService needs to be investigated. This reeks of an inside job. The head of Secret Service must resign. This was not an isolated incident … You can’t just get into a Trump rally with a RIFLE and climb on the roof,” she wrote.
Others pointed to a video of a Secret Service sniper on a roof. Some people online claimed it showed him swiftly taking out the gunman, but others thought the government official did not react.
“The SS man was aiming and even so let the shooter fire 3 times…” wrote one.
An online conspiracy theorist rebuked someone sharing the video and calling them heroes.
“‘heroes’? They had one job!” they wrote.
“And they failed,” wrote another.
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