What we know about alleged ex-detective Duane Lee Proctor, who claimed Trump 'was not shot' in assassination attempt
The claim marked one of the latest in a series of conspiracy theories beginning just after the shooting, when then-FBI Director Christopher Wray remarked in front of a congressional hearing, "There's some question about whether or not it's a bullet or shrapnel that, you know, that hit his ear." Wray did not, however, cast doubt on the reality of Trump's ear being struck by the gunman. Many left-leaning social media users did.
On that day, 20-year-old Thomas Crooks fired eight rounds from a rooftop near the rally, including one bullet veteran New York Times photographer Doug Mills captured speeding past Trump's head in a photo. The FBI later confirmed one of Crooks' bullets grazed Trump's right ear. Video showed Secret Service officials surrounding Trump as he knelt, while photos captured him facing the ground with blood dripping down from his ear to his cheek. Other rounds struck attendees, including 50-year old former volunteer fire chief Corey Comperatore, who was killed, and two others who were wounded. A Secret Service sniper fatally shot Crooks. Before Secret Service agents rushed Trump away from the scene, he stood, raised his fist and mouthed, "Fight!" Days later, he appeared with a bandaged ear at the Republican National Convention.
A fair number of users on Bluesky, Facebook (archived), Reddit (archived), Instagram (archived), Threads (archived) and X (archived) shared the rumor about the assassination attempt in a meme displaying a picture of Trump's bloodied ear. The image, authentically captured by longtime Associated Press photographer Gene J. Puskar, shows blood both streaming down Trump's face and visible in some hair behind and above his right ear. The meme's quote, attributed to Proctor, alleged Trump opened a blood capsule filled with fake blood to stage the incident.
One reader asked Snopes, "Does Duane Lee Proctor exist?" Another person asked, "I can't find information on the cited Ret. Police Det. Lt., Duane Lee Proctor, although the quote about Trump's blood splatter makes complete sense. Can you verify?"
(@thetonymichaels/X)
According to online searches, in particular on Facebook and the newspaper archives on Newspapers.com, this quote genuinely originated from a Facebook account matching the name of a retired police detective lieutenant named Duane Lee Proctor. However, Proctor's claims featured inaccurate and unfounded information about the attempt on Trump's life. We located no credible evidence Trump used a blood capsule or otherwise staged the assassination attempt.
Snopes attempted to reach Proctor by email, Messenger and phone. We will update this story if we receive further information, including responses to our queries asking the White House if they wished to comment.
Finding Proctor's original post
A Facebook search displayed several accounts under the name Duane Proctor. None of the accounts displayed the middle name of Lee. However, one of the accounts did, in fact, feature a bio mentioning the full name of Duane Lee Proctor. That account, showing the handle of duane.proctor.90, contains numerous posts bearing the "retired police detective lieutenant" signature line — the same one shown in the meme.
The meme itself originated from an Aug. 11 post on Proctor's Facebook account that included the photo of Trump's bloodied ear with a text caption reading mostly the same as the meme. In other words, the majority of the meme truly originated from Proctor's original post, with the exception of a sentence that only appeared in the meme reading, "We all know it's FAKE just like everything about him."
FYI...A Bullet moving Front to Rear would leave a blood blowback ... not blood on the Face. Notice there is "NO BLOOD" in his Hair behind his ear!!He Was Not Shot at All!! This is a Blood Capsule Bobby given to him by his secretary of education, the owner of the WWE wrestling!-Duane Lee Proctor-Ret. Police Det. Lt.Head of Major Crimes
The post was set to display only to Proctor's friends. To users not accepted as Proctor's friends, the post link displayed the text, "This content isn't available right now. When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted."
(Duane Proctor/Facebook)
Examining the claims
Proctor's claim about fake blood on Trump's face failed to account for the fact that the Trump knelt on the ground — face down — as Secret Service officers shielded him. The Getty Images media-licensing website credited staff photographer Anna Moneymaker with capturing close-up pictures showing Trump on the ground and looking down, as blood dripped from his ear and down his face. Also, Proctor's assertion claiming an absence of blood in Trump's hair was false, considering the visibility of blood both to the left and upper-left corners of Trump's ear in the same picture appearing in the meme.
Meanwhile, contrary to the post and meme, Education Secretary Linda McMahon does not own World Wrestling Entertainment. She did, however, co-found WWE with her husband, Vince McMahon — from whom she is now separated — and also served as the WWE's chief executive from 1997 through 2009, and as its president from 1993 to 2000. In 2009, she resigned to pursue a career in politics, including two unsuccessful bids for U.S. Senate in Connecticut in 2010 and 2012.
Again, we found no credible evidence of Trump using a blood capsule or staging the assassination attempt. We also found no proof that crane operators lowered the large American flag for Trump, as some users have claimed, as part of a preconceived and coordinated photo opportunity for Trump's raised-fist gesture while leaving the scene.
Researching Duane Lee Proctor's history
In a different friends-only post from April, Proctor posted a picture of Trump playing golf. In Proctor's caption, he claimed he earned a master's degree in criminal justice and described himself as a retired detective lieutenant and police academy instructor in South Carolina. He also said he spent 20 years as a licensed private investigator. After citing those credentials, he added of the golf photo, "I can tell you, with absolute certainty where you'll find Donald today while America Burns to the ground!"
Our search of Newspapers.com found records about a man named Duane L. Proctor serving decades earlier as a police detective in Georgetown, South Carolina. The Sun News newspaper, based in the Palmetto State's famous town of Myrtle Beach, also reported Proctor served in the Vietnam War, achieved the rank of detective lieutenant following several years of police service and left the force in 1983. According to other articles, he then worked in the private detective and security business for around two decades.
Proctor's Facebook bio — and some of the newspaper articles — also mentioned a music career, including reporting that the International Country Music Association awarded him a male vocalist of the year prize in 2008.
For further reading, we previously reported about numerous other claims involving the Trump assassination attempt occurring in July 2024.
Armor, Joyce. "Private Eye Has 'eye' on Music Industry." The Sun News via Newspapers.com, 27 May 2004, p. 1, https://www.newspapers.com/article/sun-news/179189324/.
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Ismay, John. "Photo Appears to Capture Path of Bullet Used in Assassination Attempt." The New York Times, 14 Jul. 2024, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/14/us/politics/photo-path-trump-assassination.html.
"Linda McMahon." Ballotpedia, https://ballotpedia.org/Linda_McMahon.
Masih, Niha. "Who Is Linda McMahon? Trump Donor, WWE Co-Founder Is Education Secretary Pick." The Washington Post, 20 Nov. 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/11/20/linda-mcmahon-education-wwe-trump/.
Moneymaker, Anna. "Donald Trump Injured During Shooting At Campaign Rally In Butler, PA." Getty Images, 13 Jul. 2024, https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/after-being-shot-during-a-campaign-rally-republican-news-photo/2191194985.
O'Donoghue, Gary. "'It Didn't Have to Happen': Wife of Man Killed at Trump Rally Struggles with Loss." BBC, 4 Oct. 2024, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20jez2dvw8o.
Puskar, Gene J. "Focused amid the Gunfire, an AP Photographer Captures Another Perspective of Attack on Trump." The Associated Press, 28 Jul. 2024, https://www.ap.org/media-center/ap-in-the-news/2024/focused-amid-the-gunfire-an-ap-photographer-captures-another-perspective-of-attack-on-trump/.
Santana, Rebecca. "One Year after Trump Assassination Attempt, Changes at Secret Service but Questions Remain." The Associated Press, 13 Jul. 2025, https://apnews.com/article/trump-butler-assassination-attempt-anniversary-crooks-d18804b0e1382003bbb91449638c721c.
Santana, Rebecca, and Kevin Freking. "House Oversight Panel Subpoenas Secret Service Director to Testify on Trump Assassination Attempt." San Diego Union-Tribune via The Associated Press, 17 Jul. 2024, https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2024/07/17/house-oversight-panel-subpoenas-secret-service-director-to-testify-on-trump-assassination-attempt/.
Spangler, Todd. "Vince McMahon Sells $250 Million of TKO Shares to Endeavor Group Holdings." Variety, 4 Jun. 2025, https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/vince-mcmahon-sells-tko-stock-endeavor-group-1236418541/.
The Associated Press. "Former Georgetown Police Detective Suing Charleston Television Station." The Columbia Record via Newspapers.com, 20 Dec. 1983, pp. 16-A, https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-columbia-record/178972054/.
"Three Georgetown Officers Leave Force after Investigation." The Columbia Record via Newspapers.com, 24 Jun. 1983, pp. 13-A, https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-columbia-record/178972070/.
"Video Shows Moment of Trump Assassination Attempt at Rally." YouTube, ABC News, 13 Jul. 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAk6dXEzIUo.
Ward, Susan. "Lawsuit Aimed Only at Obtaining Money." The Sun News via Newspapers.com, 14 Jun. 2000, pp. 12-A, https://www.newspapers.com/article/sun-news/179183929/.
Wendling, Mike. "Bandaged Trump Gets Rapturous Welcome at Republican Convention." BBC, 16 Jul. 2024, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd1675lpd0go.
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