James Norman Rawlinson
"James Norman Rawlinson" is a name online citizen researchers have floated as a possible birth name for the curly-haired man seen in UVU crowd footage — the same man also seen chanting "USA" after the shot, and the man researchers now more often call David Sprague. It is documented here because the name circulates publicly — not because any identification has been confirmed.
:::caution One person, unverified identification — no accusation This page describes the same unidentified man that several other pages on this site also cover — the curly-haired figure in the UVU crowd who was also seen chanting "USA." The names below (Matt Taber, James Norman Rawlinson, David Sprague) and the handle @RtothepowerofX all come from anonymous crowd-sourced facial matching and public-records guessing. None has been confirmed by a reliable, on-the-record source. Being present in a crowd — or reacting to a shooting — is not evidence of involvement in any crime. Nothing on this page is a finding of wrongdoing against any living person. :::
The same man — several labels
Online researchers use several different labels for what they say is one individual. Each label has its own page on this site so search traffic lands somewhere accurate and caveated:
- Curly Hair Man — the neutral description of the crowd figure
- USA-Chant Man — the man seen chanting "USA" after the shot
- Matt Taber — an early name guess, later set aside
- James Norman Rawlinson — floated as a possible birth name (this page)
- David Sprague — a name he reportedly uses now (reportedly a mother's maiden name; also written "DavidJames Sprague")
- @RtothepowerofX — an X handle cited online in connection with him
The links between these labels are allegations by anonymous online accounts, not established fact. This site does not vouch for any of them.
What the footage shows
The underlying observation is narrow and comes from short, isolated video loops:
- He was described as turning toward the direction of the shot.
- He was described as standing up when others around him did not.
- He appeared to pump his fist in the air.
- In separate news clips he is seen chanting "USA" in the seconds after the shot.
The video may look like he pumped his fist in the air. That is a description of a gesture, not of a state of mind, and this site does not say he cheered. Readings of a few frames of body language are subjective readings of short clips, not findings — a startle-and-stand reaction, or a reflexive chant under shock, is common and looks very different in isolation than in fully time-synced context.
His own account — he says he did not cheer
He has sent a message to this site's author asking that people know he did not cheer. That is his own first-person statement about his own conduct, and it is recorded here at his request.
According to the same clips that circulated, he also said he chanted "USA" to create a distraction that might calm the panicking crowd and help save lives. His stated intent is a reported account, not an established fact, and it cuts directly against the reading some posters attached to the footage.
Public records cited online
Commentators point to ordinary, publicly-searchable records. None of these records indicates any wrongdoing; they are listed only because they are repeatedly cited online:
- A business reportedly operated as Joseph Hasel LLC, DBA "Salon 21".
- That business reportedly received roughly $115,200 in federal COVID-era loans — a program used by hundreds of thousands of small businesses.
- Buzzfile reportedly estimates the business's revenue at about $47,000/year.
- A stylist profile for locs work at a Provo, Utah salon ("Dreadknotilus") under a similar name.
Running a salon, receiving a pandemic small-business loan, and cutting hair are normal, lawful activities. They are noted here only to document what online researchers have pointed to — not to imply anything improper about anyone.
Open questions
- Has any reliable, on-the-record source actually identified this man?
- Do the circulated names refer to one real person, or to mismatched records?
- Does complete, time-synced video place his movements and his chant in ordinary context rather than the short loops that circulate?
- Was his reported explanation — chanting to calm the crowd — ever corroborated?
Status
Status: Alive (private individual). This page names no confirmed identity and accuses no one of any crime or of any role in the events of September 10, 2025.
Interesting In This Area
- The name replaced an earlier guess and was later largely dropped.
- Researchers now more often use a different name for the same figure.
- He is also identified as the man chanting afterwards.
- The section overview says plainly that presence proves nothing.
Interesting In Other Areas
- Naming a living person wrongly is exactly what the defamation section addresses.
- The people index records documented roles rather than crowd-sourced guesses.
- Breaking coverage set names running before anything was checked.
- The intel-services pattern is the frame these threads are argued inside.
Other Pages In This Section
Jaxson Thomas Fox — Jailhouse Informant
A jailhouse informant on unrelated charges, transported for possible testimony about an alleged confession. Some commentators read the publicity as a way to keep attention off the ballistics.
Read this
Russell Kennington — Scene-Tampering Report
Circulated booking screenshots describe an arrest for crime-scene tampering; a public-records response reportedly says nobody was arrested. Those two records cannot both be right, and that unresolved conflict is the reason the page exists.
Read thisThe Utah DPS commissioner appointed weeks before the assassination, and the official who cleared George Zinn the same day and locked the weapon class early. His appointment date sits one day after a claimed DC search spike.
Read this
George Zinn — the "Shoot Me" Man
The first person taken into custody shouted words to the effect of "I shot him, now shoot me," and later told police he said it to draw attention from the real shooter. He was cleared as the shooter the same day.
Read thisElsewhere In The Investigation
Civil suits between living people over what has been said about September 10 — including a security chief suing the case's most prominent commentator. The clearest measure of what naming a name actually costs.
Read this
The first forty-eight hours fixed the public template: political assassination, rooftop shooter, national manhunt, suspect named. Almost nobody revised that template when the forensic and timeline disputes arrived later.
Read thisHalted foreign inquiries, an ISR jet overhead, foreign phones, VIP flights and scene control. Indicators rather than proof — but they are the indicators an intelligence service leaves behind.
Read thisSources
- Citizen-shared crowd footage and public-records discussion on X (including the handle @RtothepowerofX), drawn from public commentary and reporting. Identifications are unverified and attributed to anonymous online research.
- Companion narrative: The List of Distraction People (Claims).
Public commentary
This name continues to appear in citizen distraction / early-suspect discussion of the UVU event. No court has adjudicated any criminal guilt related to the Kirk homicide connected to this man, and "he was part of the hit" language on X remains unverified allegation. Related context appears in the Distraction Overview and Proof Not Tyler sections.
This website's author is @HolonCitizen on X and YouTube/@HolonCitizen. Follow me there.
Interesting
- A campus alert announced a false suspect in custody 19 minutes after the shot.
- Monitors documented quadcopters firing 5.56mm rounds from hover under 100 meters.
- Blake Bednarz reportedly counted sixteen drones over UVU that day.