A number of different conspiracy theories have taken off online in the wake of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last weekend. Most center on the idea that the 20-year-old gunman did not act alone, or even that he was part of a larger plot involving the federal government.
On Friday, YouTuber and internet personality Dom Lucre—who describes himself as the “Breaker of Narratives”—posted a video that appears to fall in the latter bucket. “The woman in this video behind Donald Trump, where many viewers accused her of ‘giving the shooter instructions’ has allegedly been identified as FBI assistant director Janeen Diguiseppi,” he tweeted, with the post being shared more than 30,000 times. “I hope to God my report is 100% wrong but it doesn’t look like it.” Immediately below the initial post, he promoted his new YouTube channel, asking people to subscribe.
Neither the tweet nor the video cites any sources; the serious allegation appears to be based only on the fact that the woman behind Trump in the video takes out her phone to film or photograph the chaos as the shooting unfolded—and that she bears a passing resemblance to Janeen DiGuiseppi, who was named assistant director of the FBI’s Insider Threat Office in August 2023. But DiGuiseppi is far from the only middle-aged white woman with brown hair in the United States, and the woman featured in the video was not the only Trump rally attendee to record the aftermath of the attempted assassination.
The FBI itself also strongly disputed the claim in a statement provided to The Dispatch Fact Check. “We’re aware of the claims,” a spokesperson said. “They are false. She was not there. That was not her.”
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