New details have surfaced about Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old suspect in the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally. The FBI has officially confirmed Crooks as the armed assailant, while reports indicate the discovery of explosives in his vehicle and reveal the origins of the weapon used in the attack.
This is the scumbag Thomas Matthew Crooks, who tried to take Trump's life. pic.twitter.com/8QaG4msfvg
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) July 14, 2024
The 20-year-old man from the nearby town of Bethel Park was discovered to have explosives in his vehicle at the scene. His father had purchased the rifle used in the shooting, which was a semi-automatic rifle resembling an AR-15. At the rally, Crooks was wearing a shirt branded with the logo of Demolition Ranch, a popular YouTube channel dedicated to firearms and weaponry.
Crooks was raised in a Pittsburgh suburb, in a small town approximately 40 miles south of Trump's rally location in Butler. NBC News reported that Pennsylvania voter records showed that he was a registered Republican. Curiously, he made a single $15 donation to ActBlue, an organization that supports left-leaning and Democratic politicians and causes, on January 20, 2021 – the day of President Biden's inauguration. Crooks was only 17 at the time of this donation. Records indicate he registered to vote as a Republican upon turning 18 in September of that year.
Footage of Donald Trump's shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks opening fire and then getting killed seconds later surfaces pic.twitter.com/2ctMtIkwUs
— Kollege Kidd Media (@KKMediaTingz) July 14, 2024
According to the New York Times, Crooks did not have a criminal history reflected in Pennsylvania's public court records. According to The Tribune-Review, he completed his high school education at Bethel Park High School in 2022.
A former classmate spoke to the New York Post, saying, "He didn't come across as particularly odd or anything. I'd characterize him as a Republican." The classmate added, "He likely had a small circle of friends but wasn't very social. He tended to keep to himself." When questioned about Crooks' absence from the 2022 yearbook, the classmate speculated, "He might not have returned after the COVID pandemic."
