Matt Taber
"Matt Taber" was an early name floated by online citizen researchers for the curly-haired man seen in UVU crowd footage — the same man also seen chanting "USA" after the shot. Researchers later moved away from it toward other names (James Norman Rawlinson, David Sprague). It is documented here only because the guess circulated publicly.
:::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 (this page)
- James Norman Rawlinson — floated as a possible birth name
- 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
- Researchers moved from this name to another, then to a third.
- All three point at one unidentified crowd figure with curly hair.
- The same man is also the chanting figure in later clips.
- The overview says most people here were never identified at all.
Interesting In Other Areas
- A live defamation case shows what wrong naming costs.
- Platform mechanics spread a confident guess faster than its retraction.
- Censorship and misidentification both distort the same public record.
- Every claimed distraction actor here is carried as an allegation.
Other Pages In This Section
Outer TikTok — Livestreamer at UVU
A man filming himself in the seconds after the shot announces the shooting and asks viewers to subscribe. Presence and self-promotion only — nothing here suggests he knew anything in advance.
Read thisSeconds after the shot a man in the crowd appears to chant "USA." He says he was not cheering, and the page keeps both the footage and his answer in view.
Read this
One unidentified man in the crowd, several names attached to him by anonymous facial matching, and no confirmation behind any of them. Reacting to a shooting is not evidence of anything.
Read thisDistraction People — Investigation Index
The routing table for every distraction figure: who is court-documented, who is unidentified, and who appears for presence only. One admitted diversion proves distraction happens; a coordinated roster would need dispatch logs.
Read thisElsewhere In The Investigation
Brian Harpole v. Candace Owens
A defamation suit that puts the man who was in the SUV and the most prominent independent voice on the case on opposite sides of a courtroom — with a reported mass recusal of an entire district's judges. Nothing in it is a court finding yet.
Read this
X, YouTube and TikTok did most of the investigating and most of the distorting. Moderation claims, viral outrage cycles and the overlap with court gag orders sit on one page.
Read this
Locks, shadowbans and limited-visibility warnings for engaging the wrong posts, alongside a witness reportedly told to delete his own footage. Suppression does not prove a cover-up, but it does decide what survives online.
Read this
Alleged Patsies and Distraction Actors (Claims)
If a sophisticated operation killed Charlie Kirk, some of the people who drew the cameras were not the killer. This page compiles those distraction claims — every one an unproven allegation, none a finding of guilt.
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 discussions of the UVU event. No court has adjudicated any criminal guilt tied to this man, so "he was part of the hit" language circulating on X remains unverified allegation rather than established fact. 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
- At least three names have been attached to the same curly-haired figure.
- The alleged staging house is owned outright by UVU itself.
- UVU paid $900,000 for a home assessed at $755,000.
Related Areas
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