The Chilling Connection Donald Trump Had To His Would-Be Assassin's Family

Now that the dust surrounding the attempted assassination of Donald Trump has started to settle, investigators are trying to get to the bottom of what happened. This is especially true when it comes to the motivations of 20-year-old would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was shot and killed on the day of the shooting. Speaking to the BBC, multiple people called Crooks "nice," "quiet," "intelligent but a little weird," and a "loner." He got "good grades on tests" and was "very passionate about history." He also sometimes wore "hunting outfits" to school and was bullied often. On top of this he tried out for the junior varsity rifle team and didn't make the cut because he was a "terrible shot." And pointedly: His family was flagged by Trump's campaign as being potential supporters who would be responsive to "pro-gun rights messages," per the U.K.'s Channel 4 News.

Crooks and his family represented a strange demographic intersection. Crooks himself was a registered Republican whom the BBC says donated $15 to the Democratic Party-supporting non-profit ActBlue in 2021. His father, Matthew Brian Crooks, is a registered Libertarian. His mother, Mary Elizabeth Crooks, is a registered Democrat. They're both licensed social workers. Bethel Park, the little town where they live, seems like a quaint slice of outdoorsy suburbia, and all the residents appear shocked at what happened. On CBS News local councilman Dan Grzybek said of the Crooks, "I got the perception they were nice people." A neighbor told the New York Post their lawn was also replete, at times, with MAGA signs.

As the U.K.'s Channel 4 News details, the connection between Donald Trump and the Crooks family — including Thomas Matthew Crooks — goes back to 2016 when they got profiled by Trump's presidential campaign. Back then the team number-crunched to figure out who among Pennsylvania's population would be susceptible to pro-gun messaging. Crooks' father Matthew ranked within the top 20 in this regard out of 19,000 people in Bethel Park. The campaign's report indicated that Matthew not only likely owned a gun but was a hunter, as well. The same report indicated that his wife Mary was also likely a gun owner. This was around the time that the family displayed MAGA signs on their lawn.

Fast forward to 2024 and Trump's 2016 campaign report comes across as eerie, prescient, and spot-on. Per USA Today, the FBI said that Crooks' father owned the AR-style 556 that his son used to try and assassinate the politician on Saturday, July 13. While we don't know where Crooks bought the gun, we do know that he purchased 50 rounds of ammunition from Allegheny Arms & Gun Works right in town before the assassination attempt. According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Allegheny Arms & Gun Works owner Bruce Piendl said that there's a "rich tradition of hunting and fishing and outdoor stuff" in the area as well as "a ton of gun clubs." As for whether or not Piendl sold the AR-15 to Crooks, he said, "That's between me and God."

As mentioned, the Crooks family seemed like Donald Trump supporters on the surface. At the very least they displayed MAGA signs on their lawn and were targeted by the former president's 2016 campaign as being receptive to pro-gun messaging — a de rigueur Republican talking point. Speaking to WPXI, neighbor Kelly Little said of the Crooks household, "There absolutely was MAGA-supporting things for a while." 

Thomas Matthew Crooks made his aforementioned donation to ActBlue in January 2021. In September the same year, eight days after his 18th birthday, he registered as a Republican to vote in Allegheny County. A former classmate described Crooks as "definitely conservative" to the The Philadelphia Inquirer and wondered why he would take aim at the conservative candidate. To the New York Post, a former guidance counselor at his school said he never knew the student to be political. Regardless, he was sniped within 26 seconds of taking his first shot. This is something that the Crooks' 2016 Trump family profile could have never predicted.