Was comedian Sam Hyde identified as the man who shot at Donald Trump in Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024? No, that's not true: The comedian is routinely blamed for being the perpetrator of shootings or other violent incidents as part of a bizarre internet in-joke. The FBI has identified the gunman as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, from Bethel Park in Pennsylvania.
An example of the claim can be seen in this tweet (archived here) published on July 14, 2024 that reads:
39 year old Sam Hyde has been identified as the man responsible for shooting at Trump.
This is what the tweet looked like:
(Source: Twitter screenshot taken on Sun Jul 14 06:51:56 2024 UTC)
According to The Associated Press, The FBI has identified the shooting suspect as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.
"Sam Hyde is the killer" meme
As part of a bizarre internet in-joke, comedian Sam Hyde gets blamed for almost every mass shooting or headline-grabbing assasination that happens, often within minutes of the event. The joke originally started on 4chan and has been perpetuated for years by various troll accounts.
You can read our previous fact checks mentioning his name here.
