CIA Addresses MKUltra Claims Regarding Trump Shooting
The CIA publicly denied a dark internet conspiracy theory involving the shooting of former President Donald Trump in a statement released Monday.
Trump was shot through the ear during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.
The conspiracy theory, which has mainly emerged in obscure online spaces and social media accounts, suggests that Thomas Matthew Crooks, the now-deceased would-be assassin who shot Trump, might have been a CIA asset.
According to Gizmodo, it was revealed that the CIA had been developing a “mind-manipulation program” aimed at creating brainwashed, mind-controlled assets.
The program, called MKUltra, was ultimately unsuccessful.
A Freedom of Information Act request to the CIA revealed that MKUltra was an “official U.S. government program” that spanned the ’50s and ’60s.
The document states that the project “supposedly used United States citizens as unwitting test subjects” and that it “involved the surreptitious use of many types of drugs, as well as other methods, to manipulate individual mental states and to alter brain function.”
It's the stuff of fictional spy novels.
Nevertheless, some social media users have gone so far as to claim Crooks had been trained and controlled by the CIA through the MKUltra program.
Speaking with Wired, the CIA refuted this conspiracy theory.
“These claims are utterly false, absurd, and damaging,” a CIA spokesperson said Thursday.
“The CIA had no relationship whatsoever with Thomas Crooks.”
“Regarding MKULTRA, the CIA’s program was shut down more than 40 years ago, and declassified information about the program is publicly available on CIA.gov.”
Gizmodo used the conspiracy theory to criticize Trump supporters, stating, “It’s really their entire brand” to support theories such as QAnon.
The outlet further added, “Trump supporters may be some of the dumbest people on the planet.”
In reality, few supporters of former President Trump actually believe or support theories like QAnon.
A 2021 poll conducted closer to the height of the QAnon theory found that only 4 percent of Trump voters held a “favorable” view of the movement.
Additionally, 31.4 percent found the movement “unfavorable,” 43.3 percent said they had “never heard” of QAnon, and 21.3 percent were undecided.
Nevertheless, left-wing establishment media outlets have repeatedly pushed the theory into the national spotlight.
Now, it appears that a similarly fringe theory on social media, the MKUltra theory, is being spotlighted as well by outlets such as Wired and Gizmodo.
As demonstrated in Gizmodo’s article, at least one media outlet has attempted to tie this conspiracy to Trump.