Editor’s note: This article contains graphic images that may be unsuitable for some audiences.
(Ben Sellers, Headline USA) The FBI identified the failed assassin of former President Donald Trump as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pa.
Crooks appeared to live with his parents, Matt and Mary Crooks, and may have had an older sister, Katherine, according to online records. Attempts Sunday morning to reach the number listed as the family’s home phone were unsuccessful, and the mailbox was full.
However, CNN reportedly reached Crooks’s father late Saturday, who said he was trying to figure out “what the hell is going on” and would “wait until I talk to law enforcement” before speaking about his son.
Many of the details about Crooks and his possible motives remained unclear. But Headline USA was able to verify according to records at the Federal Election Commission, that Crooks was previously donated money to a radical leftist organization, the Progressive Turnout Project, in 2021. He was also a registered Republican.
Although he used the notorious left-wing aggregator site ActBlue, which many dark-money billionaires and foreign nationals are suspected of abusing to hide illegal campaign donations, Crooks—who was 18 at the time—earmarked his $15 donation specifically for the PTP.
A review of the Progressive Turnout Project’s website revealed that the Illinois-based organization included several radical messages that might, in hindsight, be construed as endorsing violence against Trump, including an entire initiative called Stop Republicans.
In a post from 10 a.m. on the day of the assassination attempt, PTP put up a quotation from President Joe Biden saying that “Donald Trump will destroy democracy.”
It's simple people: Donald Trump is a threat to our democracy and another four years of him would be detrimental to our country. pic.twitter.com/hwcT0WGzRp
— Progressive Turnout Project (@TurnoutPAC) July 13, 2024
Other attacks on Trump pushed abjectly and demonstrably false claims that Biden also has promoted in the past, including the bogus claim, suspected to be from former Trump chief of staff John Kelly, that he called veterans “suckers and losers” while on a D-Day visit to France.
Multiple other witnesses have disputed the allegation, which ran anonymously in The Atlantic ahead of the 2020 election.
🚨ATTENTION VOTERS: DONALD TRUMP DOES NOT CARE ABOUT YOU!!🚨 pic.twitter.com/6wcxLLZWSF
— Progressive Turnout Project (@TurnoutPAC) July 10, 2024
Headline USA reached out to PTP President Alex Morgan and founder Harry Pascal via email to inquire whether they accepted any culpability for the violent rhetoric, which led to the death of one man in the audience after the bullet appeared to nearly miss Trump, grazing his ear.
A remarkable photo captured by my former White House Press Corps colleague Doug Mills.
Zoom in right above President Trump’s shoulder and you’ll see a bullet flying in the air to the right of President Trump’s head following an attempted assassination. pic.twitter.com/FqmLBCytoW
— Haraz N. Ghanbari (@HarazGhanbari) July 14, 2024
The abundance of video footage and witnesses led to a flood of information Saturday on social media following the attack, which occurred at roughly 6:15 p.m.
Several eyewitnesses reported seeing Crooks crawling on the roof of a building outside the perimeter of the Butler, Pa., rally, including at least one man who told the BBC he desperately tried to alert authorities but was ignored.
Footage also showed a sniper with a clear line on Crooks in the seconds before he fired appearing to delay his reaction, which has fueled some criticism, as well as a few conspiracy theories.
Trump adviser Roger Stone also posted an alternative identity of the alleged shooter, prior to official confirmation, which more closely resembled the photo of the dead man than photos of Crooks, who appeared to have different colored hair.
Checks out. pic.twitter.com/zAnh7WvB2u
— Jason Dairz (@jasondairz) July 14, 2024
Meanwhile, Laura Loomer, a conservative activist and journalist, suggested that Crooks had previously been featured in a commercial for the woke investment firm BlackRock while in high school.
EXCLUSIVE:
🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨
Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20 year old shooter who tried assassinating President Donald Trump at his campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania last night, was featured in a BlackRock @BlackRock ad in 2023!
The ad was filmed at Bethel Park High School.… pic.twitter.com/radQ3fDJAR
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) July 14, 2024
Headline USA was unable to independently confirm.
Correction: A photo posted with the original version of this article may have misidentified Crooks. The photo relied on the best available information based on images that reportedly showed the shooter at the scene and after his death. However, they do not match with other images appearing to show Crooks’s social media accounts.
Ben Sellers is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/realbensellers.
