Fact check: The Secret Service did not refuse to give the order to take out the perpetrator before the assassination attempt on Trump

A photo shared on X allegedly shows a 4chan post from an officer claiming the Secret Service did not let him shoot the man who attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump. 

BREAKING: Jonathan Willis, the officer in the famous photo of the two snipers on the roof at Trump’s rally, has informed the public that he had the assassin in his sights for at least 3 minutes, but the head of the Secret Service refused to give the order to take out the… pic.twitter.com/6xkd5VBgAo

— Jeckov Kanani (@JeckovKanani) July 14, 2024

Verdict: False 

A Secret Service spokesperson confirmed that the claim is false via email.

Fact Check:

Before the start of the Trump rally last weekend in which a man attempted to assassinate the former president, Secret Service agents identified the nearby roof the shooter used as a potential security risk, according to NBC News. Investigators are still working to understand how the gunman accessed the roof, the outlet reported.

An X post appears to show a 4chan post published on July 14 titled “THEY WOULDN’T LET ME TAKE OUT THE SHOOTER,” claiming to have been posted by a Secret Service agent. Accompanying it is an image that appears to show two snipers on a roof taking aim.

“My name is Jonathan Willis, I’m the officer in the famous photo of the two snipers on the roof at Trump’s rally,” the post reads. “I came here to inform the public that I had the assassin in my sights for at least 3 minutes, but the head of the secret service refused to give the order to take out the perp. 100% the top brass prevented me from killing the assassin before he took the shots at president Trump.”

The post’s caption reads, in part, “They prevented him from stopping the assassin before he took shots at President Trump.”

A Secret Service spokesperson confirmed there was no refusal to give an order to take out the suspect in an email to Check Your Fact.  (RELATED: No, AP News Did Not Report On Alleged Donald Trump Child Molestation)

“That is false,” the spokesperson said. 

The post claims “Jonathan Willis” is in the picture that shows two snipers on the roof. The photo was taken by Gene J. Puskar with AP News. The image’s caption does not name the two men, but instead reads, “Police snipers return fire after shots were fired while Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump was speaking at a campaign event in Butler, Pa., on July 13, 2024.”