Crazed speculation or genuine mystery? As Trump shooting conspiracy theories run riot, eight key questions are put under the microscope by TOM LEONARD

It seems staggering that it could hap successful 2024 — a would-be assassin’s slug ­coming truthful adjacent to Donald Trump’s caput that it took disconnected portion of his correct ear.

The U.S. came wrong an inch, literally, of being plunged into nan benignant of governmental chaos and unit that would make nan turbulence of caller years look utterly insignificant.

Many Americans struggle to judge that this was simply a unspeakable cock-up connected nan portion of nan U.S. Secret Service and section constabulary who were tasked pinch protecting nan ex-president.

Especially fixed that nan would-be assassin was nary trained master but a skinny 20-year-old room adjunct —Thomas Crooks — who was turned distant from his precocious schoolhouse firearm nine for being a ‘comically bad’ shot.

As caller specifications proceed to look astir nan shocking information nonaccomplishment astatine nan fateful Trump rally successful Butler, Pennsylvania, astatine nan weekend, ­myriad questions person been raised.

Some onslaught astatine nan bosom of nan contention and others look to beryllium conscionable bizarre conspiracy theories. The second thin to autumn into 2 camps, either Left-wing claims that nan botched shooting was ‘staged’ to boost Trump’s fame aliases Right-wing claims that nan Secret Service knew it was coming and didn’t enactment to extremity it.

Such chaotic speculation — fanned, of course, by societal media — is nan merchandise of relentlessly suspicious minds successful a ­ferociously polarised country. But cardinal questions stay unanswered among nan jumble of speculation and rumour . . .

WHAT WAS THE GUNMAN’S MOTIVE?

Investigators opportunity they are still ­struggling to understand why Thomas Crooks would want to termination nan erstwhile president. Politics is nan evident reply and yet Crooks’ precise governmental views look difficult to gauge.

He was a registered Republican Party personnel but, successful 2021, he made a $15 aid to a ­Left-wing group. However, ­investigators person yet to find immoderate grounds that he held beardown ­political positions.

Crooks graduated successful 2022 from a precocious schoolhouse wherever he was described arsenic very overmuch a ‘loner’ who was a unfortunate of teasing and bullying but besides arsenic ‘nice’ and ‘incredibly intelligent’.

Fellow pupils and teachers person said they decidedly saw him arsenic politically blimpish but only moderately so. While it’s nary concealed that galore accepted and much mean Republicans loathe Trump, Crooks hardly fits nan ­picture of nan governmental zealot fresh to clasp violence.

Nor does he rather fresh nan stereotype of nan embittered high-school misfit pinch a simmering hatred of nan world. While a classmate says he was teased astir his mediocre hygiene and assemblage odour and tried not to tie attraction to himself, nan FBI says he had nary known ­history of intelligence illness.

Nor did he time off down immoderate ­evidence of convulsive rhetoric connected societal media aliases a hatred-spewing ‘manifesto’ arsenic rampaging gunmen nowadays truthful often do. Instead, Crooks was virtually invisible online, apparently having nary ­public relationship connected either ­Facebook aliases Instagram.

WHY COULD HE GET SO CLOSE TO TRUMP?

This halfway question, that has ­puzzled truthful galore information experts, became moreover much pertinent aft it emerged that nan gunman had really scaled a storage owned by nan American Glass Research institution that was being utilized arsenic a ‘watch post’ by 1 of nan constabulary anti-sniper units ­covering nan event.

Thomas Crooks opened occurrence correct nether (or much accurately, over) nan noses of trained snipers peering retired of nan building’s ­windows looking for threats.

And, shockingly, though nan unguarded tile of this commercialized building offered a clear statement of show to nan shape — nary much than 150 yards distant — wherever Trump was standing, it was extracurricular nan information perimeter group up by nan Secret Service.

Consequently, nan gunman didn’t request to walk done immoderate information checks, including metallic detectors, to scope his vantage point. How he sewage truthful adjacent pinch an assault-style firearm remains different mystery.

HOW WAS HE NOT STOPPED BY POLICE?

Police themselves warned of Crooks’ suspicious behaviour adjacent nan gunman’s eventual shooting position astatine slightest 3 times.

A Beaver County serviceman — a personnel of 1 of 3 different section forces operating nan area — was portion of an anti-sniping squad stationed wrong nan building that Crooks later scaled.

The serviceman watched him extracurricular arsenic Crooks looked up astatine nan tile and past left, news web CBS reported. He past returned, sat down and looked astatine his phone, astatine which constituent 1 of nan snipers moreover took a photograph of him.

When Crooks took retired a rangefinder, utilized by hunters to measure nan region to a target, nan sniper radioed his bid post.

Crooks past vanished erstwhile much and returned, this clip ­carrying a backpack. The snipers radioed successful pinch this latest­ information, adding that he was stepping towards nan backmost of their building.

Police judge he mightiness person utilized an aerial conditioning portion to get connected to nan roof. Fatally, nan snipers themselves ne'er tried to prosecute Crooks.

Experts were dumbfounded that nary of nan 3 officers was stationed connected nan roof, which would person offered a acold amended vantage constituent to observe nan rally. The trio reportedly hadn’t been fixed a spotter, which is modular procedure, owed to a manpower shortage.

Embattled Secret Service main Kimberly Cheatle unconvincingly claimed yesterday that cipher had been positioned connected nan tile for information reasons because it was ‘sloped . . . astatine its highest point’.

WHY DID WARNINGS COME TOO LATE?

Bystanders person said they warned constabulary of nan man pinch a weapon connected nan storage tile ­several minutes earlier nan shooting and couldn’t fathom why Trump was allowed to proceed his speech.

Video footage taken by group adjacent to nan perimeter seems to corroborate this, though earlier telephone warnings to nan constabulary didn’t mention nan man had a gun. But according to various sources, rule enforcement unit besides spotted nan gunman connected nan tile astir 30 minutes earlier nan first shots were fired.

One of them reportedly saw Crooks astatine 5.45pm (Trump wasn’t changeable until 6.11pm connected Saturday).

One serviceman did negociate to get up to nan tile from nan outside, peering up complete nan separator only to spot nan gunman aiming his firearm astatine him.

Unable to usage his ain weapon arsenic he was holding nan tile pinch some hands, opportunity superiors, he ducked down. Crooks past turned and started shooting astatine Trump.

WAS SOMETHING IN TRUMP’S HAND?

According to immoderate fanciful societal media interpretations of photos of nan infinitesimal erstwhile shots were fired, Trump was holding a yellowish entity successful nan manus he utilized to touch his bloody ear.

They person moreover claimed it was a gel battalion containing clone humor — routinely utilized successful films and TV — that Trump burst nan infinitesimal he grabbed his ear.

To beryllium clear, location is nary grounds to backmost up specified an outlandish conspiracy theory.

DID ONLOOKER BEHAVE STRANGELY?

Online speculation has swirled astir nan behaviour of an ­unidentified female sitting successful nan seats reserved for halfway Trump supporters down his podium.

As others astir her recoil successful scary and either cower successful their seats aliases effort to flee, nan female — wearing a achromatic top, acheronian glasses and a achromatic Trump shot headdress — momentarily sinks debased but past calmly pulls retired her mobile telephone and starts filming nan play arsenic Secret Service agents bundle nan ex-president to nan floor.

One station connected X asking group to ‘pay adjacent attraction to nan female successful nan achromatic hat’ has been viewed immoderate 20 cardinal times.

‘Gunshots ringing retired and her first small heart is to very, very calmly propulsion retired her telephone and movie nan full spectacle. Does that look for illustration normal behaviour to you?’ asks different user.

Her behaviour is surely astatine likelihood pinch those astir her and ­suggests small interest for ­personal safety.

Yet is it truthful overseas nowadays, immoderate person countered, for group to scope for their phones during a crisis?

These sceptics person insisted her behaviour is much a sad reflection of nan modern compulsion to movie unit than ­evidence of immoderate anterior knowledge of nan shooting.

DID SECRET SERVICE KNOW ABOUT IT?

Some insist that respective videos of nan shooting show constabulary and Secret Service agents — whose first duty, of course, is to protect serving and ex-presidents — ­acting arsenic if they knew bullets would soon beryllium flying.

A two-man constabulary anti-sniping team, equipped pinch rifles and ­positioned connected a rooftop adjacent nan stage, tin beryllium seen peering done powerful ‘spotter scopes’ successful nan guidance of nan gunman for astir 40 seconds earlier he opens occurrence and they occurrence back.

Frank Figliuzzi, a erstwhile adjunct head of nan FBI, told nan Mail earlier this week that they mightiness person assumed nan assassin was a constabulary sniper, portion of their information team.

Down connected nan ground, sceptics person focused connected footage of a Secret Service supplier stepping astir successful a somewhat crouched stance arsenic he ushers group distant from nan ex-president conscionable ­seconds earlier nan first shots ringing out.

Others person countered that he’s doing conscionable what an supplier would beryllium expected to do and there’s thing suspicious here.

Some of nan grounds that’s been produced to propose nan incident was staged is itself fake. An image quickly circulated connected societal media showed a image of 2 agents who ran to defender Trump pinch smiles connected their faces.

An influential anti-Trump ­commentator, who has almost 250,000 followers connected X (formerly Twitter), shared nan image, saying: ‘Everyone present seems to beryllium having a bully time, laughing and smiling for nan cameras.’

However, nan image was ­later debunked arsenic a digitally manipulated type of an ­Associated Press photo.

So-called ‘BlueAnon’ conspiracy theories — levelled by Left-­wingers — person intelligibly been heavy connected nan crushed this time, compounding nan disorder dispersed by likewise paranoid aliases conscionable ­trouble-making Trumpites.­

According to investigation group Institute for Strategic Dialogue, references to mendacious assassination narratives amassed much than 100 cardinal views connected X successful conscionable 24 hours.

WHY DID TRUMP FRET ABOUT HIS SHOES?

The play connected nan rally shape aft nan shooting concisely veered into farce erstwhile Trump could beryllium heard complaining that he wasn’t going to beryllium hustled distant until he’d recovered his shoes.

He later explained that he’d been thrown to nan crushed pinch specified unit by his bodyguards that they’d travel off.

But why, astatine a infinitesimal erstwhile location could person been much ­gunmen astir and his life was still successful danger, was he truthful worried astir footwear?

Hollywood screenwriter Randi Mayem Singer speculated —somewhat mischievously — that Trump wears 2 to three-inch lifts to make him look taller.

According to Singer, that explains why nan shoes fell disconnected truthful easy and why he ‘didn’t want nan humiliation of group seeing his instrumentality shoes’.