(Ken Silva, Headline USA) As much of the world was watching the Super Bowl on Sunday, a wild rumor was spreading online that Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro was involved in the July 13 assassination attempt against Donald Trump.
“Trump learned today a Federal Whistleblower and former PA State Police employee has come forward with information … allegedly linking [Shapiro] with the assassination attempt in Butler,” a Facebook post from an account named “Pennsylvania Arrest Warrants” stated.
The Facebook post cited a “private criminal complaint,” which alleged that Shapiro “organized, schemed, and conspired with other officials to carry out the attempted assassination.”
Other documents circulating online Sunday included a Feb. 7 criminal complaint filed by someone named Hadassah Feinberg, as well as a Aug. 22, 2024, letter from Butler District Attorney Richard Goldinger, in which he declined to pursue a similar complaint against Shapiro.
However, there was no actual evidence presented that links Shapiro to the July 13 attempt. Nor was there any evidence that DA Goldinger or any other Pennsylvania officials were taking such allegations seriously.
I reached out to Butler DA Richard Goldinger about this. He told me he did receive a complaint, but that he has absolutely no evidence that Gov. Shapiro was involved. https://t.co/C12IdS9Rcd pic.twitter.com/DCP3lJA3hy
— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) February 10, 2025
Goldinger confirmed in an email to Headline USA that he did receive a criminal complaint against Shapiro, but that he has no evidence of Shapiro’s involvement.
“While I did not know the history of the person making the complaint, I found the allegations to be unbelievable. That being said, with the multiple investigations that were occurring, including by the Pennsylvania State Police and the FBI, I disapproved the complaint, relying on the fact there were multiple investigations underway,” he said.
“As of this date, there has been nothing uncovered in the investigation that would even remotely support the allegations in this private criminal complaint.”
Goldinger further explained that private citizens file criminal complaints frequently, and that their allegations are mostly retaliatory, false, or unsubstantiated and unprovable.
Usually, he still has a detective conduct an initial investigation to see if the complaint has merit. But in the case of the Butler Trump shooting, he said he declined to do so because the matter was already under investigation by multiple agencies.
“Generally, when I receive one, I have a county detective conduct some initial investigation to determine if there is any merit. I am always of the opinion that if the police do not file charges, or if the individual filing the private criminal complaint has not reached out to the police, that the allegations are questionable, at best,” he said.
Headline USA also contacted Feinberg, the person named on the Feb. 7 criminal complaint against Shapiro. Feinberg identifies herself as someone with PTSD who’s living on Social Security benefits.
Feinberg has representing herself in several lawsuits alleging a wide-ranging conspiracy against her and her four children. One complaint, which was dismissed last October because she didn’t pay her filing fee, accused Shapiro of failing his duties as governor “to protect and intervene with Plaintiff and her four minor children who were being harassed … between October 18, 203, through June 4, 2024.”
In response to an email from this reporter, Feinberg stated the following: “Thank you for reaching out. I can confirm that this is a valid criminal complaint. Due to pending and active litigation at the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court docket Feinberg et al v Evan’s et al 402 MD 2024, a lot of the information must remain confidential so it does not compromise the lawsuit.”
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
This story was updated to reflect the response from the person who filed the complaint against Shapiro.
