People online are discussing alleged ‘proof’ related to the reported Trump incident

It wasn’t long after the recent shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner took place that a parallel story started spreading on the social media. Alongside actual reports of the incident, during which an armed suspect carrying a shotgun, handgun, and several knives charged toward the security checkpoint near the staircase leading to the room where the dinner was being held and shots were fired, a wave of social media users claimed the entire incident was staged.

These conspiracy theories spread like a wildfire and flooded social media platforms almost instantly, with people calling it a “false flag” before the dust had even settled.

What is known about the shooting comes from law enforcement. According to Washington Post and AP, the surveillance cameras captured the footage of the suspect, later identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, charging at a security checkpoint with a shotgun, handgun, and knives. The encounter occurred around 8:36 pm when Secret Service agents stopped him and tackled him down after which he got arrested.