A viral claim that the would-be assassin who shot at former President Donald Trump is transgender has been debunked, according to reporting by journalist Erin Reed.
The claim originated in a now-deleted X post by user Paul Hookem, who had said, “Anyone wondering why they aren’t using this photo of the shooter?” They posted a picture of a transgender woman who vaguely resembled shooter Matthew Thomas Crook.
However, a major issue arose with this claim – the shooter is dead, while the woman in the photo is alive.
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The woman, whose name is Rose, spoke to Reed about the picture and the false association that she was responsible for the shooting that resulted in the death of a Pennsylvania firefighter.
I've noticed a ridiculous number of people who struggle to see how this is clearly two separate people.
Let's stick to the truth only and use our eyes! pic.twitter.com/L3aVW9A7kW — Kingo (@lonwoskeng) July 18, 2024
“I’m just an artist, I enjoy drawing and writing, and occasionally playing video games. I’m literally the most average random person,” she said.
Despite her having nothing to do with the shooting, Hookem’s post with her picture went viral, receiving millions of views and even being shared by prominent conspiracy theorist and Infowars host Alex Jones.
A government run cult! https://t.co/h2P3hILzjz — Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) July 18, 2024
When asked why she thought the picture was used, Rose said “Engagement bait is my best guess, a lot of people just went along with it simply [because] I’m trans.”
She also is positive about everything that happened to her. “At least the pic used is one where I look cute.”
This isn’t the first time right-wing accounts falsely accused mass shooters of being trans. It happened earlier this year with the shooter of the Joel Osteen megachurch, with the 2022 Uvalde shooter, and the 2018 YouTube shooter.
Authorities still don’t know exactly why Crook shot at Trump. Crook is a registered Republican and people who knew him said he was a staunch conservative.
dexterfishpaw on July 19th, 2024 at 22:46 UTC »
I can see it now
Maga:”You’re that trans pedo they killed for trying to assassinate Trump!”
Random Trans Woman: “ how could I be her, if I’m still alive?”
Maga: “LIAR!”
southpawFA on July 19th, 2024 at 20:13 UTC »
They were hoping to get this person killed. Republican Christian nationalism is a terrorist group.
Republicans have a deranged hatred of trans people. They want to create a pogrom against trans people. They are obsessed with trans people and wanting to make trans people's lives miserable. They are unhinged to the nth degree. It is cruel.
More people need to call this what the Republicans are up to for what it is: a state-sponsored genocide of trans people. This is what Project 2025 calls for, and it's anti-American.
atomsmasher66 on July 19th, 2024 at 20:09 UTC »
Oh that’s a tasty defamation suit brewing