Original article (in Bosnian) was published on 9/25/2024; Author: Marija Manojlović
The web portal Nulta tacka published an article that manipulatively claims that the suspects in the two assassination attempts on Donald Trump are connected to the company BlackRock.
On September 17, 2024, Nulta tacka published an article claiming that Matthew Crooks and Ryan Wesley Routh, suspected of two separate attempts to assassinate former US President Donald Trump, appeared in advertisements “connected” to the company BlackRock.
Both Trump assassins appeared in BlackRock-related ads
Both potential Trump assassins, Matthew Crooks and Ryan Root, have appeared in BlackRock-related ads in recent years, while coincidences surrounding the two assassination attempts continue to emerge.
The article states that Matthew Crooks, who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump at a campaign rally on July 13, 2024, in Pennsylvania, appeared in a BlackRock advertisement from 2023. However, when it comes to Ryan Routh, the suspect in the recent incident in Florida, the article does not specify which advertisement is being referred to. The article includes a photograph of Routh with another man, while Ukrainian flags are visible in the background.
It is also mentioned that current U.S. President Joe Biden has “deep ties” to the company BlackRock, and members of his administration are reportedly connected to Routh. All of this is presented as “evidence” that the assassination attempts on Donald Trump are part of a “broader plan” related to Ukraine.
Employees in Biden’s administration, including chef José Andrés, were seen posing for photographs with the potential assassin of Trump.
However, Routh’s connection to BlackRock and the neo-Nazi battalion Azov in Ukraine raises concerns and potentially reveals the ties of the potential assassin to three intelligence agencies.
BlackRock signed the largest contract in Ukraine’s history, effectively owning half of the country’s market when it was awarded a half-trillion-dollar contract for the “reconstruction” of Ukraine after the war with Russia, where U.S. and NATO interests are closely linked to BlackRock.
The eyesore of Trump’s presidency threatens to undermine BlackRock’s incredible revenue of more than trillions of dollars in Ukraine.
The link to this article was shared on Telegram.
What Are the Facts?
While Donald Trump, the former U.S. president and Republican candidate in the upcoming presidential election, was playing golf in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday, September 15, Secret Service agents noticed a rifle protruding from nearby bushes and shot at the armed man. Shortly afterward, 58-year-old American citizen Ryan Wesley Routh was arrested. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) stated that this incident appears to be a “murder attempt” on the former U.S. president. Routh is currently charged with illegal possession of firearms and possessing a weapon with a removed serial number. The BBC reported in an article published on September 23 that federal prosecutors said they would seek to charge Routh with plotting to assassinate a political candidate in the coming days.
This incident occurred two months after 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks shot at the former U.S. president at a campaign rally on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania. One bullet scratched Donald Trump’s ear at that time.
The article by Nulta tacka claiming that both Routh and Crooks appeared in advertisements related to BlackRock is a translation of an article published on September 16 on The People’s Voice website. The disinformation stemming from this website has been the subject of earlier analyses by Raskrinkavanje (1, 2, 3, 4, 5).
Claims about their connection to BlackRock have also been shared outside our language area, as reported by AFP Fact Check, DW, Newsweek, BBC and Snopes.
Matthew Crooks did indeed appear in a BlackRock advertisement, but from 2022. This was confirmed by the company to Reuters.
“In 2022, we released an advertisement featuring a teacher from ‘Bethel Park High School,’ in which several unpaid students briefly appeared in the background, including Thomas Matthew Crooks”, said the world’s largest asset manager in a statement to Reuters.
The company also stated that they had pulled the advertisement.
Regarding the claim that Ryan Routh appears in an advertisement related to BlackRock, no details about that advertisement are mentioned in the Nulta tacka article. This claim has often been shared in foreign languages alongside a short video clip showing Routh (1, 2, 3). However, the video is not a BlackRock advertisement. The footage was taken in Ukraine in 2022 and shows a gathering supporting Azov fighters. DW stated in an analysis published on September 18, 2024:
The video, which first appeared on May 1, 2022, shows a gathering in Maidan Square that took place on April 30. Local media, including the website CBOÏ.CITY, covered the event, publishing photographs and interviews with some of the individuals.
Reports indicate that the gathering was organized by the families and friends of soldiers defending the Azovstal iron and steel plant in Mariupol, a Ukrainian city that was under Russian siege at the time. The soldiers surrendered between May 16 and May 20, 2022, and many remained captive in Russia.
BlackRock told Newsweek and AFP Fact Check that Ryan Routh was never an employee of BlackRock nor did he appear in the company’s advertisements.
Routh spent some time in Ukraine. DW noted in its analysis that he appeared in several social media videos, encouraging people to join the foreign legion and fight on the Ukrainian side. AFP interviewed Routh during protests in Kyiv in 2022.
Azov stated on the social media platform X that Routh has never had any connections with this group. The post noted that the gathering he attended was open, and anyone could join.
In a photograph shared by Nulta tacka, Routh is seen with chef José Andrés. The article states that Andrés is “employed in Biden’s administration”. Andrés is the founder of the non-profit organization World Central Kitchen, which provides food to people in areas affected by humanitarian, climate, and social crises. Biden appointed him in 2022 as co-chair of the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition (PCSFN). This is a federal advisory committee aimed at promoting healthy eating and physical activity. A person close to Andrés told French TF1 info that the photograph was taken during his trip to Ukraine.
During various travels, “he has taken photos with thousands of people during different visits”, with individuals who are not necessarily direct acquaintances or relatives. World Central Kitchen adds that “there is no trace of any connection with Ryan Wesley Routh”.
Regarding the claim that Andrés is a member of Biden’s administration, this media outlet states the following:
The American organization led by José Andrés is funded by public funds, and the appointment of the director is determined – as we have seen – by the White House. The connection to the authorities is evident, but it does not necessarily make the head of the PCSFN a member of Biden’s administration. The council emphasizes on its website that it “consists of athletes, doctors, fitness and nutrition experts, and entrepreneurs appointed by the president who have an advisory function through the Secretary of Health and Human Services”. Andrés’s team also emphasizes that this role is performed voluntarily.
BlackRock is one of the largest asset management companies in the world. Ukraine has engaged BlackRock and JPMorgan to help establish a fund to raise public capital that could attract private investments for post-war reconstruction in Ukraine.
From the Nulta tacka article, the clear intention is to lead readers to conclude that Biden’s administration and BlackRock are interested in preventing Trump from becoming president of the United States, and that behind the assassination attempts on him lies some hidden plan to thwart his return to the White House. However, these implications are based on completely unconvincing evidence – disinformation that Routh appears in a BlackRock advertisement and a photograph of the suspect with José Andrés.
The assassination attempt in Pennsylvania has been the subject of various conspiracy theories and disinformation. Raskrinkavanje has written about some of them in previous analyses (1, 2). The incident in Florida has also fueled the spread of conspiracy theories, as reported by the Guardian in an article published on September 17.
Therefore, we assess the claim that Ryan Routh appears in an advertisement by BlackRock as fake news. The insinuations that the assassins targeting Trump are connected to a company that would lose profits in Ukraine in the event of his election victory are assessed as a conspiracy theory.
