Woman behind Donald Trump during shooting comes under scrutiny (2024)

Internet sleuths scouring footage of the assassination attempt on Donald Trump have zoned in on an audience member who reacted by filming the chaos playing out on the stage directly in front of her.

The unidentified woman was wearing a white shirt, sunglasses, and a black baseball cap emblazoned with "JESUS is my saviour, TRUMP is my president." She was seated in the bleachers, behind the stage where Trump was speaking. She is seen looking around as Trump speaks, appears to duck as shots are fired, then pulls out her phone almost immediately to film the scene in front of her. Her reaction, and possible motivations, have divided viewers, with some making unsubstantiated claims that her behaviour was "suspicious."

Newsweek has been unable to verify the identity of the woman involved. However, beyond the claims on social media—all of which were posited without evidence—there is no suggestion that she was involved. Law enforcement officials have so far said they believe the shooter was acting alone.

Trump was shot in the ear at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday and fell to the stage, bleeding, when Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire from a nearby roof. The shooter killed one audience member and injured two others before the 20-year-old was himself shot and killed by a Secret Service sniper shortly after launching his attack. Trump, 78, was subsequently protected in a huddle of security agents, before they whisked him away from the scene to safety.

One conspiracy theorist on X (formerly Twitter), whose username is SCOTTY, has posted that he believes the assassination attempt was staged. He posted footage of the woman with the caption: "So this is weird. Look at the woman with the black hat and sunglasses right next to Trump. Gunshots ring out and her first instinct is to very, very calmly pull out her phone and film the whole spectacle. Does that seem like normal behavior to you?"

Others went further, suggesting without evidence that the woman was somehow involved. One with the username Balling Gents, who has shared a post alleging the assassination attempt was ordered by the CIA, called her a "Trump Shooter accomplice."

And X user Dominic Michael Tripi, who describes himself as a political analyst, also shared footage of the attendee with his 12,200 followers. "This video of a woman located behind Donald Trump during his attempted assassination is HIGHLY suspicious," he said. "Her body language & behavior seem to indicate she knew that something was coming." His post was shared more than 12,000 times.

The footage featured a commentary saying: "Watch this s***, dude!"

"She's not even freaking the f*** out!" the commentator adds.

Other viewers saw nothing suspicious in the woman's behavior, pointing out that her fellow audience members reacted similarly. Some online were saddened by the footage for other reasons.

One X user, with the username CCwriter, wrote: "Is this how numb we are to gun violence in America? Watch the woman in white with the black hat right behind Trump. Rather than take cover or – I don't know – protect the child behind her – She takes out her phone and starts recording."

War writer and photographer Michael Yon weighed in, pointing out that some people could remain calm in the face of danger and decide to document the events as they unfolded. "Well...speaking as a war correspondent, I did stuff even more intense many times and kept the camera rolling," he said, although he added that he had "no idea" about the woman or her motivations.

Another viewer agreed, saying: "Different people react differently. Some freak out. Some don't. It you ever find yourself in a genuinely dangerous situation, you will discover which kind you are. There's nothing you can do about it -- you either panic or you don't. It's physiological. Yr [you're] born with it."

A different user added: "I think at 1st people thought it was firecrackers, I watched it live, and a lot of people just stood around after the 1st 2 shots until Trump went down."

Some users pointed out that the footage of the woman—and indeed all the bystander footage currently emerging—had itself been recorded by people at the event who had also decided to film, or remain filming, during the aftermath of the shooting.

Meanwhile, the FBI is continuing their investigation, which remains focused on Crooks, who has been described as a "loner" by his former classmates.