FBI: Shooter Was 20-Year-Old Registered Republican

July 14, 2024 Crime, Donald Trump

Reuters reports:

The FBI identified 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania as the suspect in Saturday’s attempted assassination of former U.S. President Donald Trump at a campaign rally. State voter records show that Crooks was a registered Republican. The upcoming Nov. 5 election would have been the first time Crooks had been old enough to vote in a presidential race.

Crooks lived about an hour away from where the shooting took place in Butler. The Federal Aviation Administration said on Sunday that it closed the airspace over Bethel Park for “special security reasons.” When Crooks was 17 he made a $15 donation to ActBlue, a political action committee that raises money for left-leaning and Democratic politicians, according to a 2021 Federal Election Commission filing.

CNN reports:

Crooks graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022, according to a local media report and a video of the school’s commencement.

When reached by CNN late Saturday night, Crooks’ father, Matthew Crooks, said he was trying to figure out “what the hell is going on” but would “wait until I talk to law enforcement” before speaking about his son.

After being killed at the scene, Crooks didn’t have any identification on his body, so agents had to “run his DNA and get biometric confirmation,” Kevin Rojek, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, said at a press conference Saturday night before the gunman was named.

The Washington Post reports:

The suspected shooter used an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle to carry out the attack, a U.S. official and another person familiar with the investigation said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the early stages of the investigation.

The FBI said as it identified the suspect that this “remains an active and ongoing investigation” and urged anyone with relevant information to submit it to the agency.

In a news conference earlier in the evening, FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Kevin Rojek said the agency did not yet know the shooter’s motivation. Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens was asked whether the shooter acted alone and responded that it was “too early to say that.”

Overnight, cultists created fake social media profiles for Brooks, claiming, among other things, that he was a member of antifa. They’ve also posted many photos of young men other than Brooks.



Tags

© joemygod.com 2025