Can government incompetence run so deep that its accidental consequences appear deliberate?
Or, when a preponderance of evidence points in one direction, must a reasonable person accept an otherwise unthinkable conclusion?
These questions came to mind again on Thursday morning when Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida took to the social media platform X and posted a hitherto unreleased photo of Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old man who allegedly attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally on July 13, walking around a building near the rally and carrying an AR-15.
According to Luna, a rally attendee took the photo and gave it to law enforcement officials.
“I have just obtained a photo that was taken by individual at rally in PA of Crooks with the gun used to shoot at President Trump walking around building prior to assassination attempt. This photo was submitted to LEO in PA. To my knowledge this photo has not been released until now,” the congresswoman wrote.
I have just obtained a photo that was taken by individual at rally in PA of Crooks with the gun used to shoot at President Trump walking around building prior to assassination attempt. This photo was submitted to LEO in PA. To my knowledge this photo has not been released until… pic.twitter.com/55osUSrVeE
— Anna Paulina Luna (@realannapaulina) August 15, 2024
The breathtaking incompetence required to overlook a rifle-toting man at an event featuring a former and perhaps future president hardly inspires confidence in the Secret Service.
Nonetheless, it beats the alternative.
With that in mind, prominent Trump supporters on X responded to Luna’s photo by voicing what many have already suggested.
“He’s open carrying an AR15 a few hundred feet from a presidential candidate and former president speaking. Zero chance this wasn’t an inside job,” Brenden Dilley wrote.
“Inside job,” Gunther Eagleman wrote.