(Elias Irizarry, Headline USA) A former classmate of Thomas Matthew Crooks, the would-be assassin of former President Donald Trump, described him as part of a friend group that threatened to shoot up the school and was vocally critical of Trump.
In an interview with FOX News Digital, Vincent Taormina described the would-be assassin as “smug” and “arrogant” regarding his political beliefs.
“I brought up the fact that I’m Hispanic and, you know, I’m for Trump. And he said, ‘Well, you’re Hispanic, so shouldn’t you hate Trump?'” Taormina said. “He called me stupid – or insinuated that I was stupid.”
JUST IN: Former Thomas Crooks classmate says Crooks was a known Trump hater and was a "know it all."
The FBI still doesn’t know what Crooks' motive could have been.
Hispanic classmate Vincent Taormina recalled a political disagreement he had with Crooks after he told him that… pic.twitter.com/LzgnohInnw
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) July 17, 2024
Taormina recalled the conversation from a class discussion over the 2016 election about candidates Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Donald Trump, and claimed he disliked all three of them.
“He just did not like politicians, especially with the choices that we had,” said Taormina. “He would just talk, talk and act like he knew everything, especially politics related—and he would say it in a tone that was like ‘I’m better than you.'”
Taormina said Crooks’ friend group threatened to “shoot up the school” and was known for being reclusive.
“Everybody was saying it was Thomas who made a threat, and it was that friend group. Everyone was mainly blaming the friend group, but a name that kept coming up was Thomas,” Taormina told FOX News. “And he never did anything, you know. I mean, he left school for a couple of days.”
The former classmate also spoke against rumors that Crooks was severely bullied in high school.
“I could name you a few students who were severely bullied, and I remember their names. He’s not one of them,” said Taormina, referring to Crooks.
According to Taormina, there were plenty of signs regarding Crooks, and he said that there was no way that somebody else couldn’t have seen it coming.
“Somebody should have known, because he was not a loner. And with both of his parents being counselors, how do you not see that warning sign?” said Taormina. “People are going to get their fares in order before they do something this bold and this drastic—and nobody saw it?”
The FBI Just Released More Details Regarding the Trump Assassin
• he went to a shooting range where he was a member, and practiced firing, the day before
• the day of the rally, Crooks went to a Home Depot and purchased a five-foot ladder
—— does that look like a 5ft ladder… pic.twitter.com/1ZF65bJbiI— MJTruthUltra (@MJTruthUltra) July 16, 2024
The fallout from the assassination attempt at the July 13 Trump rally in Pennsylvania continues to worsen, as investigators seek to find a motive behind Crooks’ attempt on the former President’s life.
The assassination attempt landed the Secret Service in hot water, as the Department of Homeland Security reportedly sought to prevent a briefing between the House Oversight Committee and Director Kimberly Cheatle demanding answers over the handling of the incident.
Cheatle is still set to testify publicly before the Oversight Committee on Monday.
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