Editor's note: The video referenced in this VERIFY story contains graphic language.
A video clip with millions of views is being shared online with claims it shows Thomas Matthew Crooks screaming into a crowd and making threats against Republicans and fascists.
The FBI identified Crooks as the shooter behind the attempt on former President Donald Trump’s life at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, July 13. Crooks was killed at the scene by the Secret Service. The FBI is still investigating Crooks’ motive and believe he acted alone.
In the days following the attack, conspiracy theories and unfounded speculations have spread on social media as questions build about whether politics could have motivated Crooks.
In the viral video, a man can be seen screaming at a group of people and making a slashing gesture with his hand. The man can be heard yelling, “Slash Republican throats! Slash fascist throats!," among other expletives.
THE QUESTION
Does a viral video of a man yelling “slash Republican throats” show Trump rally shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks?
THE SOURCES
- Statement from Arizona State University President Michael M. Crow
- Original videos posted on X by Students for Trump at ASU in February 2020
- InVid and RevEye, video and photo forensics tools
THE ANSWER
No, the man yelling in viral video isn’t Thomas Matthew Crooks, the suspect in the attempted assassination of former President Trump.
WHAT WE FOUND
The viral video of a man yelling and making threatening gestures about Republicans and fascists doesn’t show Thomas Matthew Crooks. VERIFY traced the video to footage taken four years ago on Arizona State University’s campus. University officials said in a recent statement that the man seen in the video is not Crooks.
Arizona State University President Michael M. Crow issued a statement on July 15 saying, “To be clear, the individual who attempted to assassinate former President Trump had no association with ASU and was not the person seen on a video on the ASU campus four years ago.”
“ASU concluded its investigation back in 2020, in conjunction with the FBI, and determined the subject in the video was not a credible threat – and that person has a different name and different date of birth than the suspect in the attempted assassination of former President Trump over the weekend,” the statement continued.
A spokesperson for Arizona State University police and a university spokesperson referred us to the official statement issued by Crow, and did not provide further detail about the viral claims.
Using InVid, a video forensics tool, VERIFY analyzed the keyframes of the viral video and conducted a reverse image search of the frames. VERIFY was able to trace the video to one posted on X on Feb. 5, 2020, by the Students for Trump at ASU group.
Students for Trump at ASU posted another video from the same incident, showing a different angle. The man can be clearly seen and doesn’t look like the images being widely shared of Crooks. Crooks would have been a sophomore in high school in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania at the time the video was taken at Arizona State University.
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