What is 4chan? Jonathan Willis’ sniper post on Trump's assassination attempt sends social media into a tizzy

On July 14, a claim arose on the unreliable imageboard website 4chan that the Secret Service top brass did not give a green signal to one of their agents to neutralize the alleged shooter in Saturday’s Donald Trump assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.

“My name is Jonathan Willis. I’m the officer in the famous photo of the two snipers on the roof at Trump’s rally. 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,” the post began.

The alleged Secret Service agent further continued by claiming:

“100% the top brass prevented me from killing the Assassin before he took the shots at President Trump. I didn’t follow the orders though, as soon as the shooter opened on Trump, I returned fire despite strict order to not engage.”

The 4chan post claimed that the officer saw the alleged shooter “fiddle with his rifle and adjust the scope,” making it “obvious” that he had ulterior motives. Regardless, the agent “wasn’t allowed to engage.”

It wrapped up by saying how the officer was reportedly arrested after the incident, interrogated by the FBI, and later released. The person also claimed he lost his job for “not following orders” but was glad he “took the shots anyway.” The claim has now created a stir online, with diverse reactions to it on the internet. While some believe it, others seem to dismiss it. Here are some of them from X:

“Is there any proof to this? This appears to be just a fabricated post on 4chan. Why would a SS agent even post on 4chan?” a person asked.

“Stop spreading misinformation. This is just exacerbating the problem!” another person wrote.

“Why would anyone believe that a SS officer would post this? It’s against their rules. I know this for a fact,” a netizen wrote.

“Sounds like more 4chan larping,” another netizen wrote.

Some people believed the post saying that the alleged officer's post matches the videos perfectly and that there needs to be accountability.

“Thanks for the intel. That’s terrible, and if true, there needs to be accountability,” a user wrote.

“I absolutely believe this word for word. It matches the videos exactly, it matches SS standard op procedure, it’s exactly what this guy should post to clear his name now or he would be accused, and obv he feels guilty for obeying but they r taught to obey always no matter what,” another individual wrote.

So far, the authenticity of the 4chan post has not been proven. However, the FBI has labeled the incident as an act of domestic terrorism and is currently conducting a thorough investigation.

Meanwhile, in the wake of Trump getting allegedly shot behind one of his ears, the Secret Service was reported to have taken down the 20-year-old gunman, who was identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks.

Notably, this is one among various conspiracy theories, rumors, and speculations that have emerged online in the wake of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s assassination attempt.

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All you need to know about 4chan

4chan is an imageboard website founded in 2003 by a 15-year-old named Christopher “Moot” Poole. It is an English-language website based on the Japanese Futaba channel where users post images and videos and then discuss them.

It was originally created as a competition for Japan’s infamous 2chan to discuss manga and anime. However, over the years, random topics like global affairs, video gaming, “mature” and inappropriate content, pop culture, and memes have also found their way on 4chan.

The website is majorly popular between the age group of 18 and 25. It is often deemed controversial due to issues such as raids, hacking, cyberbullying, sociopolitical attacks, violence, hate speech, and impacting the online safety of its teenage users.

The open interface has also been deemed problematic in recent times as users do not need to sign up for it, and anybody can share anything anonymously. Usually, people on the site post content using the “start a new thread” option and then by sharing/not sharing their names. It is then seen by others who can reply directly and anonymously to it.

Reportedly, 4chan tracks the IP addresses of the users and reserves the authority to ban them at any time if and when its guidelines are broken, which can later be challenged or appealed by the users. Parental controls are also available on the website.

4chan has been central to various controversies, protests, and activism, namely the 2008 Project Chanology, the 2014 celebrity photo leaks, the Gamergate controversy, and more.