Donald Trump Alleged Assassination Attempt: Registered Republican Identified As Shooter
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has identified the man who allegedly tried to assassinate Donald Trump on Saturday (July 13).
The man, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, is suspected of attempting to kill Trump at a campaign rally in nearby Butler. Crooks was shot and killed by the Secret Service seconds after he allegedly fired shots toward a stage where Trump was speaking. The FBI said it was working to determine a motive for the attack. One rally attendee died and two other spectators were critically injured. Trump was shot in the ear and said he’s “fine.”
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Crooks’ voter registration card started making the rounds on social media shortly after the shooting, showing he was a registered Republican. The upcoming November election in which Trump is challenging President Joe Biden would have been the first time Crooks had been old enough to vote in a presidential race.
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. The donation was earmarked for the Progressive Turnout Project, a national group that rallies Democrats to vote.
Crooks’ father, Matthew Crooks, told CNN he was trying to figure out what happened and would wait until he spoke to law enforcement before speaking about his son. In Bethel Park, about an hour away from where the shooting occurred, the streets surrounding the Crooks’s home were blocked off by law enforcement authorities.
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Crooks graduated in 2022 from Bethel Park High School and once received a $500 “star award” from the National Math and Science Initiative, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. A graduation ceremony video cited by shows Crooks receiving his high school diploma to some applause. Video from that ceremony posted online shows Crooks with glasses in a black graduation gown and posing with a school official.
Law enforcement officials said Crooks carried no identification to the site of the shooting and had to be identified using other methods.
“We’re looking at photographs right now and we’re trying to run his DNA and get biometric confirmation,” Kevin Rojek, FBI special agent in charge, said at the time.
The rally, held in a packed outdoor venue, erupted into chaos on Saturday as Trump addressed his ardent supporters. Security personnel and Secret Service agents quickly intervened, evacuating Trump from the stage and transporting him to a nearby hospital—but not before he managed to throw his fist in the air and shout “fight, fight, fight.”
The incident has caused widespread division, with many thinking it was staged and others declaring Trump a hero.