On Sunday, an Italian sports journalist announced his intention to take legal action after being falsely identified on social media as the suspected shooter in an assassination attempt against U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump.
A widely shared message on the X platform claimed: “Per the Butler Police Department, the Trump shooter has been arrested at the scene and has been identified as Mark Violets, an Antifa member.” This message included a picture of Italian journalist Marco Violi, the editor of romagiallorossa.it, a fan website for the Italian soccer club AS Roma.
Early on Sunday, the FBI identified 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as the “subject involved” in Saturday’s shooting. The Secret Service reported that the suspect was shot dead by agents.
“I categorically deny that I am involved in this situation,” Violi, based in Rome, wrote in an Instagram story, explaining that he had been woken up in the middle of the night by notifications related to the post.
Violi accused two Italian X users of spreading the false information and stated he would report them and the media outlets that picked up the story to the police on Monday. He described the X users as “stalkers” who have targeted him for years, adding that criminal proceedings against them are ongoing. “I kindly ask to be left in peace because I have been a victim of this since 2018,” he wrote.
