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EXCLUSIVE: FBI concludes Trump shooter Thomas Crooks acted alone after unprecedented global investigation
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EXCLUSIVE: The FBI came to the conclusion that Butler, Pennsylvania, would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks acted alone — after a massive team doggedly pursued interviews with thousands of foreign and domestic individuals as part of an unprecedented global investigation into the 2024 shooting of President Donald Trump, the bureau told Fox News Digital as part of a lengthy, behind-the-curtain rundown of the probe.
FBI Director Kash Patel, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino and a senior official with direct involvement in the Butler, Pennsylvania, investigation sat down for an unprecedented interview with Fox News Digital for more than an hour Thursday afternoon at FBI headquarters.
FBI ‘STONEWALLED’ HOUSE TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT INVESTIGATION, CONGRESSMEN ALLEGE
Patel told Fox News Digital that the investigation was a «Day One priority» for the bureau.
FBI Director Kash Patel told Fox News Digital that the investigation was a «Day One priority» for the bureau. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
«Dan and I have been on this since we got here eight months ago. We not only had to maintain the chain of command to President Trump, but we had to remind the world that President Trump was the victim — one of the four victims — on that day,» Patel said. «There are victims’ rights rules that apply to him, and they don’t get erased because he is the president.»
«We fully briefed the president, as a victim of this case, at the White House, providing him with all of the details of our investigation, and the president was satisfied with the results and where we left it,» he said.
FBI Director Kash Patel, left, and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino sat down for an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital on the probe into Thomas Crooks, center. (Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Bethel Park School District ; Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Patel, Bongino and the senior official, who has requested anonymity due to his sensitive work, shared new details of the monthslong investigation in an effort to provide maximum transparency to the American people amid recent reports that have suggested several theories, which Patel, Bongino and the official debunked.
«We have reviewed this case over and over — looked into every nugget. We have spoken to the families, the president — there is no cover-up here,» Bongino told Fox News Digital. «There is no motive for it, there is no reason for it.»
Patel referenced former FBI Director Christopher Wray’s testimony to Congress in 2024 as a potential reason for unfounded theories to surface.
«My predecessor went to Congress and said he didn’t know if it was a bullet that hit President Trump in the head. The whole world knew it was a bullet,» Patel told Fox News Digital. «For the number one law enforcement officer to say that — it causes a massive disbelief in the institution that Dan and I are now running.»
President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Evan Vucci/The Associated Press )
«But that is the difference between then and now,» he said.
The case currently sits in a «pending, inactive» status, but the official called the investigation «one of the largest mobilizations of FBI resources in history that, frankly, continued to this day.»
«If we get a credible lead, we’ll continue to investigate,» the official said. «The director has been very clear about leaving no stone left unturned, and that is what we are committed to.»
On July 13, 2024, Crooks, age 20, opened fire at Trump’s campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The president was shot, with the bullet piercing the upper part of his right ear.
The president ducked to the ground and was surrounded by Secret Service agents who evacuated him from the scene.
Three spectators were hit by gunfire, and one person, a firefighter and father, Corey Comperatore was killed.
The FBI took over the investigation hours after the shooting, and began investigating it as an assassination attempt.
«Four hundred and eighty-five FBI employees have been involved in some way, shape or form in this investigation,» the official told Fox News Digital.
«The FBI around the world has conducted more than 1,000 interviews connected to this case,» the official continued. «We’ve reviewed 2,000 tips that were submitted. We’ve served and executed more than 10 search warrants and 100 subpoenas. In that, we specifically analyzed 13 electronic devices that were associated with Crooks and his family members from his home in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.»
The official said the FBI examined «35 accounts linked to Crooks, including social media, bank and other online accounts.»
President Donald Trump is whisked away by the Secret Service after shots rang out at a campaign rally at Butler Farm Show Inc. on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania. On the right, an image of the gunman, Thomas Crooks, taken earlier that day. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images, Obtained by Fox News Digital)
«The FBI has been able to access all of the accounts,» the official said. «There has been reporting to inappropriately and incorrectly state that there was encryption that the FBI was not able to get into — that is not true. We have been able to get into every single account.»
The official said that Crooks maintained foreign-based email accounts from Germany and Belgium.
«The FBI was able to fully access those accounts within days of the attack,» the official said. «Additionally, the FBI engaged with foreign partners who also provided all of the content of those email accounts.»
«We can say with confidence that there is no communication, there are no emails that Crooks had that we have not been able to access,» the official said.
«The home was completely swept. Every device in the home was collected and accessed fully,» Patel said. «Reports say that we didn’t get into certain devices? That’s false. We got into all of the devices.»
The FBI conducted a manual review of more than 500,000 individual electronic files and «engaged with a number of nations around the world to ensure that all leads were covered.»
«When there was a lead about an overseas connection — the two instances where we became aware of the foreign accounts — the FBI reached out to foreign governments,» the official explained.
Thomas Matthew Crooks’ cellphone was taken by the FBI. (Obtained by Fox News | Getty Images)
«Very quickly, they provided the full contents of the accounts,» the official said, adding that the FBI had deployed «such an extraordinary overseas effort that even people not in Crooks’ age range were interviewed and done completely and thoroughly.»
«There is no foreign connection in this case,» the official stressed. «There is no individual that is outside U.S. borders or inside U.S. borders that had any role in directing him, inspiring him or assisting him in any way — and that includes foreign governments.»
The official added: «There is no information, no evidence anywhere in this investigation, that shows there was any foreign individual or foreign government or foreign organization tied to Thomas Crooks.»
«We would have cracked the biggest investigation in human history — a foreign-directed plot,» Bongino said. «Why would we withhold that? But we can only follow the facts, and they are just not there.»
Reports have surfaced questioning Crooks’ alleged relationship with Antifa-linked individual William Tepes.
The FBI told Fox News Digital that there was never any direct communication between Crooks and Tepes.
Undated file photo of Thomas Matthew Crooks in a yearbook photo. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)
«Crooks posted on YouTube. Tepes is a Norwegian, nordic resistance member. He simply responded to content Crooks posted,» Patel said, pointing to a comment Tepes made on a 2020-era video posted on the video-sharing platform by Crooks.
As for his online presence, Bongino said previous FBI leadership initially downplayed his digital footprint.
«The degree of his digital footprint was not messaged correctly at all by prior leadership,» Bongino said.
The official told Fox News Digital that Crooks’ online activity largely took place in 2019 and 2020, when Crooks was just 16 years-old — nearly five years before the attack.
«He called our Republicans and Democrats. He went as far as saying, ‘In my opinion, the only way to fight the government is with terrorism-style attacks.’ I won’t try to get into his brain,» the official said. «But there is a limited record of him making political statements and advocating for political violence in 2019 and 2020.»
The official detailed some of Crooks’ online behavior leading up to the attack, including on July 6, 2024, when he used his email account to register to attend the Butler, Pennsylvania, rally on the Trump campaign website. Crooks also searched «how far was Oswald from Kennedy?»
The official also said Crooks searched for what the weather would be in Butler, Pennsylvania, on the day of the attack and where the podium would be, and he looked up directions from his home to the Butler Farm Show grounds and directions from the grounds to the closest hospital.
«But Crooks left no manifesto. He had no seepage of any kind. He didn’t give any indication anywhere that he was going to do this or why he did this,» the official said. «There are many instances in notable assassinations that they do want folks to know why they did it, but we don’t know that here, because Thomas did not leave any of those artifacts.»
«The rage, the anger, I totally get it. I’m with you. [Trump] is a friend of ours, he was shot in the head on live television — we want an explanation, too,» Bongino said. «Where is the manifesto? The answer is — it doesn’t exist.»
An undated image of Thomas Matthew Crooks. (Handout via AFP)
Reports have suggested Crooks had some interest in the «furry» anthropomorphic community online.
But Patel told Fox News Digital that evidence obtained through the FBI’s investigation revealed «no evidence» of involvement in that community.
«He went on a website, called Deviant.com, and that website contains pornographic material — animated pornographic material related to the furry community — a whole host of things Americans would never look at,» Patel said, noting FBI evidence that Crooks displayed an interest in «animated female muscle-building erotica.»
«Crooks was on that website and looked at images related to women who work out … a lot. That was his interest, and so we are sharing this with you to show that just because he was on a website that has a voluminous amount of terrible information on it, there is no investigative fact to back up a connection between Thomas Crooks and a portion of the website that had the ‘furry’ on it.»
Patel said questions are also being raised as to why the FBI did not stop the assassination attempt before it happened.
Officers surround Thomas Crooks on the AGR roof after counter-snipers killed him. (Butler Twp Police Dept.)
«The FBI can only investigate based on a lawful predicate to open,» Patel said. «Does the American public really want the FBI scouring social media and content everywhere without a lawful predicate and trampling over First Amendment rights?»
Patel said that if someone had called in a lead, «immediately there would be action.»
«But no one did that,» Patel said. «No one.»
«People are asking why we didn’t act on his posts on certain sites. No one in law enforcement knew who he was. No one referred him to law enforcement, and we do not monitor every single American’s use of YouTube and Google and Twitter and Facebook,» Patel said. «Because then people come back and say to us: ‘Why are you on our First Amendment rights?’»
As for the weapon used to shoot the president, Crooks used a 223 rifle. Crooks’ father controlled access to the gun vault and the gun.
The weapon was used to fire eight rounds in the vicinity of the president and the stage. The official told Fox News Digital that there were 22 additional unfired rounds in the weapon and a number of unused magazines that were located in his vehicle on a ballistic vest.
The officials all shot down any theories of a potential second shooter, noting that the individual near the water tower around the site was a Pennsylvania State Police officer.
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino. (Reuters)
«There were no phantom rounds. Every single round was accounted for,» the official said.
Bongino stressed that «it is the FBI’s conclusion that Crooks acted alone.»
«It is our conclusion, and it is likely, given politically motivated assassination attempts in history,» Bongino said. «These are historical incidents that have already happened — Arthur Bremer; (Squeaky) Fromme; Sara Jane Moore; John Hinkley — those names should all ring a bell.»
He added, «We’re not saying Crooks didn’t deal with anyone ever — we are just saying that the people he dealt with had no role in inspiring, motivating or directing this attack.»
Meanwhile, the FBI discovered an undetonated explosive device inside Crooks’ vehicle.
An Allegheny County Police Bomb Squad car drives towards the home of Thomas Matthew Crooks, the suspected shooter of then-former President Donald Trump, as the FBI carries out an investigation, in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, on July 14, 2024. Donald Trump said that it was divine intervention that helped him survive an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, and called on Americans to unite. Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images (Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images)
«The device had a receiver on it which would receive a message from a transmitter in order to detonate,» the official explained. «The receiver was positioned in the off position. Had it been positioned in the on position, and if it activated from the triggering device on the person, our assessment is that it would have activated. But the position was in the off position.»
Patel told Fox News Digital that he «recreated what it would have looked like if the explosive device was in the on position.»
«We walked members of Congress through a visual of what would have happened,» Patel said.
«Because it seems so unlikely you would build a device and forget to turn it on — but he did,» Bongino said. «That’s how it was found. Was it just stupidity?»
As for the crime scene in general, Patel, Bongino and the official explained that the FBI controlled the crime scene from July 14, 2024, at midnight until July 18, 2024.
«We do not hold the crime scene forever. We have to give it back — that is standard operating procedure,» Bongino said.
Crooks’ body was removed from the roof by the Pennsylvania state coroner. In coordination with State Police, the FBI then «cleaned the roof with water, as we were going to release the scene.»
Two FBI investigators scan the roof of AGR International Inc, the building adjacent to the Butler Fairgrounds, from which alleged shooter Matthew Thomas Crooks fired at former President Donald J. Trump, in the aftermath of the attempted assassination at a campaign rally on July 14, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
«We had onlookers and souvenir hunters — the FBI is not going to turn over a blood-stained roof. AGR was a functioning business,» the official said. «Our standard operating procedure is to acquire services to clean the roof. The decision was made to do that, but only after all evidence on the roof was collected, including the firearm, shell casings, biological samples left behind, photos, blood.»
The official said an autopsy of Crooks was conducted the next day, and an FBI and Pennsylvania State Trooper sat in on the autopsy.
«Before the body was released to the family, which is protocol in every crime incident ever, the FBI collected DNA — fingernails, hair samples, and blood from Crooks, that remains in FBI evidence to this day,» the official said. «After those collections were made, our examination of the body was done and completed. At that point, it was turned over to the family for burial and for plans they had.»
The official added: «They chose to cremate.»
Law enforcement officers gather at the campaign rally site for Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is empty Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Evan Vucci/The Associated Press )
«The FBI did not make the decision to cremate the body,» Bongino said. «The family did. It was their son. The FBI had nothing to do with this decision at all.»
Meanwhile, Patel addressed criticisms from members of Congress who claim he has not turned over documents pertaining to the probe.
«Congress is accusing us of not turning over all of this stuff — but all of this stuff doesn’t exist. It is an empty narrative they’re firing into a vacuum,» Patel said. «The very limited information we have not turned over is respective to victims’ rights. There isn’t some trove of documents that we haven’t sent over there.»
Patel said the FBI has «fully debriefed the lawmakers.»
«We’ve even had members of Congress come to Quantico in our lab facility there and walk them through the exact investigative steps, the video and audio recordings, the repercussions of the explosion that did not occur that day and how that would have impacted the people that were attending the rally, and so they have been given a full inside view of what we did on those days,» Patel said. «We gave them all of the material we are legally able to give them.»
FBI Director Kash Patel White House speaks during a press briefing at the White House, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025, in Washington. (Evan Vucci/The Assciated Press )
He added: «They have seen video recordings. We’ve literally shown them and delivered them the audio and video recordings — the totality of what we possess. They have that. They have our investigative information. There is nothing more for us to turn over. We don’t have anything else in our holdings.»
The FBI told Fox News Digital that the bureau has turned in more than 1,375 pages to the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Permanent Select Committee on investigations. Those documents include FBI interviews — or 302s — with U.S. Secret Service and state and local police, state and local lab reports, including ballistics, crime scene photos, videos and more.
The total pages produced to the Senate numbered more than 2,750.
«Come put out 3,000 documents to Congress during his tenure. Wray, in his seven or eight years put out 13,000,» Patel said. «We, in eight months, have put out over 40,000 documents to Congress — to include this, Crossfire Hurricane, Arctic Frost and more.»
«But there are investigations ongoing surrounding that, so we are working with Congress, not only for constitutional oversight and reform in legislation, but we’re working on the accountability piece, and to do that, we have to run our investigations. And we’re not done.»
Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a Friday statement to Fox News Digital, «Under Director Patel and Deputy Director Bongino’s leadership, the FBI is doing tremendous work to investigate the horrific attempted assassination of President Trump that resulted in the heartbreaking murder of Corey Comperatore. We will help prevent what happened in Butler from ever happening again.»
The sit-down interview with Fox News Digital lasted for more than an hour, as Patel, Bongino and the senior official sought to provide as much information as possible on the probe and to debunk the recent public criticism they have faced.
«We don’t blame people for asking questions,» Bongino said. «The president, the candidate at the time, was shot in the head on live TV. Our position is — please — ask away.»
President Donald Trump speaks as FBI Director Kash Patel looks on during a news conference discussing the administration’s crime crackdown in the Oval Office at the White House, Wednesday. (John McDonnell/The Associated Press )
Bongino added: «We are very confident in the outcomes of this investigation. We have pulled on every threat. We are absolutely confident, and if information surfaces, please, immediately get it over to us for instant action.»
«I would ask the public: What motivation would Kash Patel and Dan Bongino possibly have to hide from their personal friend — not just their boss — the president — information about a crime where he was the victim?» Bongino asked. «I don’t understand what the motivation would be.»
But Bongino quoted a line from the movie «A Few Good Men.»
«No one is interested in guilt or innocence, they’re interested in someone to blame,» Bongino quoted. «The public is pissed off. We get it. We sympathize with you. It couldn’t have just been this guy — it couldn’t have just been this guy — it is. There is no reason I would tell you otherwise.»
«As to why people keep coming back to this on social media, the reality is, many people make a lot of money on social media pushing conspiracy theories for clicks,» Patel said. «That is a fact.»
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As for Trump, he told Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade Friday that he has «confidence in Kash, a lot of confidence, and the DOJ, and they are giving me reports, and their reports are seeming to balance out, so I have confidence in these people.»
«I wasn’t confident with Christopher Wray, but this group, it is a different group,» Trump said. «It’s Kash, as opposed to Christopher Wray, and I have confidence in Kash.»
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A customer at a McDonald’s in Brazil was seen launching into a flying kick toward an employee during a fight in the fast-food restaurant.
The incident happened at the chain’s Sao Paulo location during a confrontation between workers and customers, The Sun reported.
A couple was seen arguing with staff members on Dec. 13 when the dispute escalated.
MCDONALD’S WORKER SHOOTS CUSTOMER IN NECK DURING ‘MCMESS’ ALTERCATION, FLORIDA SHERIFF SAYS
An altercation occurred in a McDonald’s in Brazil, which ended in a customer launching a «flying kick» at an employee. (Mike Leidig/newsX)
As both sides scream at each other, a female customer is seen hurling a fallen burger at one of the employees, the outlet reported.
In response, an employee throws what appeared to be a burger box at a man in a white T-shirt who appears to be accompanying the woman.
The man leads a small girl away before he launched himself at employees near a counter with a flying kick. An employee then appears to throw a punch, prompting the man to walk away.
WATCH: FOOD ORDER MIX-UP TRIGGERS BRAWL AT BURGER JOINT, LEADING TO SEVEN ARRESTS
Footage captured an altercation in a McDonald’s in Brazil. (Mike Leidig/newsX)
Other employees attempted to step in as the woman demanded her money back. She is seen picking something up from the counter and throwing it before the footage ends.
The reason for the dispute was unclear, but local media outlets said it could have stemmed from a food order.
McDonald’s said it regretted the scenes of violence at its Sao Paulo branch, the Sun report states.
A McDonald’s employee in Brazil is seen getting ready to throw something toward a customer. (Mike Leidig/newsX)
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The fast-food giant said it was investigating the incident and taking appropriate measures.
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Francia instauró una de las restricciones más estrictas de Europa sobre las sustancias perfluoroalquiladas y polifluoroalquiladas (PFAS), conocidas como “químicos eternos”, al prohibir desde el 1 de enero de 2026 la producción, importación y venta de cosméticos, ropa y otros productos que contienen estos compuestos, siempre que existen alternativas disponibles.
La medida, celebrada por organizaciones medioambientales y respaldada por más de 140.000 ciudadanos en una petición parlamentaria, respondió a la creciente alarma sobre los efectos nocivos de estas sustancias en la salud y el medio ambiente. Los PFAS agrupan más de 10.000 compuestos sintéticos que se usan desde la década de 1940 para fabricar artículos diversos como utensilios antiadherentes, prendas impermeables y productos de cuidado personal.
Estas sustancias se caracterizan por su extrema durabilidad; pueden tardar miles de años en degradarse y se detectaron prácticamente en todos los rincones del planeta, desde la cima del Everest hasta el interior de cetáceos en océanos remotos. Esta persistencia facilita su acumulación en suelos, aguas subterráneas, la cadena alimentaria y el agua potable.
La exposición crónica a los PFAS, incluso a bajas concentraciones, se vinculó con daños hepáticos, alteraciones del colesterol, disminución de la respuesta inmunitaria, menor peso al nacer y distintos tipos de cáncer.
Investigaciones recientes señalan que estas sustancias pueden ingresar al organismo no solo por ingestión o inhalación, sino también a través de la piel, lo que incrementó la preocupación por su uso en productos de uso cotidiano, según informó Euronews.
La ley francesa se aprobó en febrero de 2025 y representó un cambio radical para industrias clave como la cosmética y la textil. La industria cosmética francesa, que genera más de EUR 30.000 millones anuales según la asociación FEBEA, reformuló ingredientes y procesos para cumplir la nueva normativa. Las empresas textiles también enfrentaron el desafío de revisar cadenas de suministro y buscar materiales alternativos, debido al uso extendido de PFAS por sus propiedades de resistencia y fácil mantenimiento, de acuerdo con France 24.
La prohibición incluye cosméticos, cera para esquís y la mayoría de prendas de vestir, aunque mantiene excepciones para ciertos textiles industriales considerados esenciales o vinculados a la soberanía nacional.
Tras una fuerte presión del fabricante francés Tefal y otros actores, los utensilios de cocina antiadherentes quedaron exentos. Tefal aseguró que sus productos actuales no usan PFAS clasificados como carcinógenos ni PFOA desde 2012, aunque varios estudios advierten que los recubrimientos de PTFE pueden liberar micro y nanoplásticos durante la cocción.
Entre las obligaciones adicionales, la ley estableció controles periódicos del agua potable para detectar PFAS y contempló multas para los contaminadores. En Europa, se estima que 12,5 millones de personas residen en áreas con agua potable contaminada por estas sustancias.
El enfoque francés contrastó con el de otros países. En Estados Unidos, solo algunos estados, como California, aprobaron prohibiciones parciales sobre los PFAS en cosméticos a partir de 2025, y se prevé que más estados adopten medidas similares en 2026.
Dinamarca eliminó estos compuestos en ropa, calzado y productos impermeabilizantes desde julio de 2026, y los prohibió en envases alimentarios desde 2020. La Unión Europea estudia una normativa integral, pero aún no implementó una prohibición generalizada para productos de consumo .
A nivel mundial, el Convenio de Estocolmo sobre Contaminantes Orgánicos Persistentes limitó varios PFAS desde 2019, con más de 150 países adheridos, aunque China y Estados Unidos excluyeron algunas restricciones.
Entre las sustancias reguladas figuran el ácido perfluorooctanoico (PFOA), utilizado por DuPont para fabricar teflón desde los años cincuenta, y el ácido perfluorooctano sulfónico (PFOS), empleado por el grupo 3M y severamente restringido desde 2009.
A pesar de los avances legislativos, los PFAS continúan detectándose en numerosos ecosistemas y organismos, lo que subraya la urgencia de alternativas seguras y regulaciones más estrictas en la cadena de consumo.
“Esta prohibición en Francia es una gran noticia para quienes buscan reducir su exposición a estos compuestos nocivos”, señaló Sandra Bell, de CHEM Trust, aunque advirtió: “Es fundamental que la Unión Europea avance hacia una restricción aún más amplia que proteja a todos los ciudadanos”, según documentó Euronews.
La nueva regulación francesa redefinió los estándares en la industria cosmética y textil, planteó exigencias técnicas y económicas, y se convirtió en referencia para futuras políticas europeas orientadas a la protección de la salud pública y el entorno natural.
científicas,laboratorio,París,Torre Eiffel,cosméticos,PFAS,innovación,ciencia,contaminación,análisis químico,seguridad,productos libres de tóxicos
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Conservatives torch media after Mamdani avoids Musk-level backlash over ‘identical’ on-stage gesture
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Conservatives are calling out what they say is a media double standard after newly sworn-in New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was seen extending his arm during his inauguration Thursday — a gesture they argue mirrors a motion Elon Musk made a year ago that ignited widespread headlines accusing the tech billionaire of delivering a «Nazi salute.»
«Not a single one of these legacy media outlets reported on Mamdani’s identical hand gesture which they called @elonmusk a nazi for Do you see what’s happening?» popular conservative X account Libs of TikTok posted Friday, accompanied by screenshots of media outlets stretching from the Guardian to Vox reported on accusations that Musk delivered a «Nazi-style salute» to Trump supporters Jan. 20.
Liberals and critics frequently attacked Trump while he was on the campaign trail by calling him a Hitler-esque fascist, including former Vice President Kamala Harris, who compared Trump to the German dictator during a town hall in the final stretch of the 2024 election cycle. Musk attended Trump’s inaugural parade in 2025, where he spoke to supporters and was accused of giving a Hitler-style salute to the crowds — a narrative that was promoted by Democrats such as Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
Musk and Republicans lambasted and mocked the accusations when they cropped up, including the tech billionaire floating a potential defamation lawsuit against Walz for promoting the claim.
CRITICS SAY MAMDANI’S VOW TO SWAP ‘RUGGED INDIVIDUALISM’ WITH ‘WARMTH OF COLLECTIVISM’ HAS SINISTER UNDERTONE
Fast-forward nearly a year, conservatives are questioning why Mamdani has not faced similar accusations after he was seen extending his arm in a gesture similar to Musk’s.
«Zohran Mamdani did the same exact gesture today at his swearing in that the left called a ‘Nazi salute’ when @elonmusk did it,» former liberal and WalkAway — a movement encouraging people to leave the Democratic Party — founder Brandon Straka posted to X.
«They lie,» Musk posted to X Friday in response to Libs of TikTok’s message showing a swath of headlines from earlier in 2025 reporting that the tech billionaire allegedly gave a Nazi salute.
«HOLY CRAP! Zohran Mamdani just did the EXACT SAME gesture as Elon Musk When Elon does it, it’s a ‘Nazi salute.’ When communist Zohran does it, the media is silent. The media is the enemy of the people,» conservative commentator Eric Daugherty posted.
«Did Mamdani do a nazi salute?!?! Literally shaking rn I’m sure CNN and MSNBC will be all over this,» Libs of TikTok posted in another message mocking Democrats over their January comments targeting Musk.
BERNIE SANDERS DITCHES ICONIC MITTENS LOOK WHILE SWEARING IN SOCIALIST ZOHRAN MAMDANI AS NYC MAYOR
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as the city’s 112 mayor on Jan. 1, 2026. (Fox News)
«When Elon signals his heart goes out to the crowd he’s a ‘NAZI’. When Mamdani does it, its perfectly fine… The left tried to use that signal from Elon to gaslight people into people into thinking he is a Nazi because they saw it as politically useful.. They are not ideologically consistent and their hypocrisy knows no bounds. They do NOT care about any of that. They just care about political power and feeling virtuous,» another posted.
«Zohran Mamdani can make this gesture and everyone loves him for it, but when Elon Musk does it? The leftist media wasted no time calling him a Nazi,» the Media Research Center posted to X.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gestures as he speaks during the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena, in Washington, Jan.20, 2025. (Angela Weiss/AFP/ Getty Images)
Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist, took office Thursday, with ceremonies that included a public swearing-in outside City Hall and an earlier private oath at the decommissioned City Hall subway station. Mamdani was seen lifting his hand from his heart to the crowds of supporters at the end of his speech during the public ceremony.
«I was elected as a Democratic socialist, and I will govern as a Democratic socialist,» he said.
FLASHBACK: INSIDE THE POLITICAL MOVEMENT THAT PUT A SOCIALIST IN CHARGE OF NEW YORK CITY
«Beginning today, we will govern expansively and audaciously,» Mamdani said, acknowledging that his agenda may not always succeed but insisting it would be bold. «To those who insist that the era of big government is over, hear me when I say this: No longer will City Hall hesitate to use its power to improve New Yorkers’ lives.»
Democrat Mayor Zohran Mamdani becomes the first Muslim mayor of New York City, with the inauguration ceremony at City Hall, Manhattan, New York City, Jan. 1, 2026. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani’s office regarding conservatives’ comments over the salute considering previous coverage of Musk, but did not immediately receive a reply.
Musk served as the Trump administration’s public leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which Trump established at the start of his second administration to weed out fraud, government overspending and mismanagement from the federal government.
Musk was a common fixture of the administration — serving as a special government employee — until May, when Musk criticized Trump’s «big, beautiful bill» for raising the debt ceiling, fracturing the relationship. Musk and Trump have since been spotted at public events together, including chatting with one another.
MEDIA OUTLETS ACCUSE ELON MUSK OF GIVING ‘FASCIST SALUTE’ AT TRUMP INAUGURATION RALLY
Musk slammed comparisons to Nazis toward the end of his DOGE tenure, pointing to it as another example of the long-running attacks against Trump and his supporters.
«Well, I mean, look, it’s a relentless propaganda campaign, which obviously President Trump has experienced for a very long time, 20 years, maybe longer,» Musk said on Fox News’ «My View with Lara Trump» in May. «And politics is a blood sport, so they’re going to come up with whatever attacks they can to destroy the public perception of someone.»
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«Now, obviously, I’ve not harmed anyone in my life, so it’s an outrageous thing to claim that I’m a Nazi,» he added.
zohran mamdani,elon musk,politics,socialism
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