MAGA now thinks Trump’s assassination attempt was a hoax

Sarah Hooper Published April 20, 2026 7:03pm Updated April 20, 2026 7:04pm Share this article via whatsappShare this article via xCopy the link to this article.Link is copiedShare this article via facebook Comment now Comments

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

Up Next

Previous Page Next Page

In 2024, Donald Trump narrowly avoided death when a madman shot at a rally he was speaking at in Butler, Pennsylvania.

The moment after the bullet ‘grazed’ his ear, Trump triumphantly pumped a fist and shouted ‘fight’, a moment which was immortalised in a famous photo.

Now, an increasing number of MAGA politicians and supporters appear to be questioning whether the assassination attempt was actually real.

Marjorie Taylor Greene is the latest to accuse Trump’s administration of a ‘cover-up’ of the Butler assassination attempt in July 2024.

This is despite the FBI concluding that gunman Thomas Crooks acted alone when he shot towards the President and killed attendee Corey Comperatore.

But not every question has been answered for some of Trump’s former allies, including Greene.

(FILES) US Republican candidate Donald Trump is seen with blood on his face surrounded by Secret Service agents as he is taken off the stage at a campaign event at Butler Farm Show Inc. in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. A congressional inquiry into the attempt to assassinate US President Donald Trump at a campaign rally a year ago on July 13, 2025 lamented "inexcusable" failures in the Secret Service's operations and response, and called for more serious disciplinary action. On July 13, 2024, a gunman shot the then-Republican presidential candidate during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, grazing his ear. One bystander was killed and two other people in addition to Trump were wounded before a government sniper killed the gunman, 20-year-old Thomas Crooks. (Photo by Rebecca DROKE / AFP) (Photo by REBECCA DROKE/AFP via Getty Images)

The photo of Trump’s bloodied ear was shown around the world (Picture: AFP)

Posting on X this week, Greene said: ‘I’m not calling the Butler assassination a hoax, but there are a lot of questions that deserve public answers. I’m asking why won’t Trump release the information about Matthew Crooks?’

‘Did he actually act alone? If not, who is behind him and who helped him? Why the cover-up?’

The White House said that only a ‘fool’ would believe that the shooting was a hoax, but other MAGA allies are stepping forward to question the events of that day as well.

‘January 6 activist’ Trisha Hope replied to Greene and said: ‘Corey Comperatore’s wife and daughters deserve to know why Corey, a true American patriot and hero, was murdered in Butler.

‘Trump said repeatedly, ‘I am your retribution.’ Where is the retribution?’

Who was Corey Comperatore?

This photo provided by the Comperatore family shows Corey Comperatore, who was killed during a rally for former President Donald Trump, who was also shot, in Butler, Pa., Saturday, July 13, 2024. (Comperatore family via AP)

Corey Comperatore was killed at the Butler rally (Picture: AP)

Although Trump survived the shooting unscathed, Corey Comperatore was killed while shielding his family from the bullets during the rally.

Retired firefighter Comperatore, 50, was shot and killed by Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, at a rally for Trump that wounded the former president and two others caught in the crossfire.

Comperatore was described as an ‘avid supporter’ of former President Trump by Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, who hailed him as a hero.

Comperatore’s widow, Helen, still has unanswered questions of her own.

She told the New York Post earlier this year: ‘All I’ve wanted this entire time was to sit down with the men who screwed up that day and find out why.

‘Why? Why at that rally? Why at that one in Butler?’

Who was Thomas Crooks?

Thomas Crooks was found to be the gunman (Picture: Handout)

Crooks, 20, was a resident of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, a predominantly white and relatively affluent city, located in the southern reaches of Pittsburgh, roughly 40 miles south of where the Butler rally was.

As a student, Crooks had tried out for the school’s rifle team but was rejected because he was a poor shot, according to Frederick Mach, a current captain of the team who was a few years behind Crooks at the school.

Crooks may have been turned away from his school’s rifle club, but he was a member of the local shooting club, Clairton Sportsmen’s Club, for at least a year.

Crooks sat alone during lunch and ‘bullied almost every day’, including for wearing hunting outfits, said Jason Kohler, who said he attended the same high school but did not share any classes with Crooks.

‘He was just an outcast, and you know how kids are nowadays.’

Crooks was registered as a Republican, according to state voter records.

But he also made a single $15 donation to the liberal ActBlue political action committee, a Democrat fundraising platform, on January 20, 2021, the Intercept reported.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Arrow MORE: The evidence a death row prisoner hopes will save him from execution after 30 years

Arrow MORE: Even Mar-a-Lago’s own priest backs the Pope over Trump

Arrow MORE: What motivates Trump? He just wants to be the most talked-about man alive

Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source News Updates

Stay on top of the headlines with daily email updates.

Email I agree to receive newsletters from Metro I agree to receive newsletters from Metro Sign UpSign Up

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy