Thomas Matthew Crooks' Family Home Had Pro-Trump Signs In Front Yard

During a rally on Saturday, July 13, chaos erupted when Donald Trump was swiftly removed from the stage following an assassination attempt by Thomas Michael Crooks.

Just moments after Trump began his speech, multiple gunshots rang out, prompting Secret Service agents to rush in, shielding the 78-year-old and taking cover behind the podium. As he was escorted to safety, blood was visible on his right ear. One spectator was killed, and two others were critically injured after "multiple shots" were fired.

As the investigation into Thomas Matthew Crooks, the gunman behind the attempted assassination, continues, law enforcement is beginning to uncover details surrounding the 20-year-old's political stance and a possible motive.

According to NewsWeek, pro-Trump signs have been displayed in the yard of the Crooks' family home, but his political affiliations are unclear. Reports have found that Crooks was seemingly registered as a Republican voter in Pennsylvania, but other records indicate he donated $15 to a progressive political action committee on January 20, 2021—the day President Joe Biden was inaugurated.

"There absolutely was MAGA-supporting signs for a while," Kelly Little told WTAE-TV. However, a collegue of Crooks said he had never expressed his political views while at work.

His mother is registered as a Democrat, while his father, who told CNN he was trying to figure out "what the hell is going on," is registered as a Libertarian.

The 20-year-old gunman was from Bethel Park, which is a predominantly white suburb that is wealthier than the surrounding Pittsburgh metro area.

Dan Grzybek, a county council representative whose district includes Bethel Park, described it as politically mixed, and according to county election records, President Joe Biden won the precinct that includes the Crooks’ house with just 52% of the vote.

On Friday, one day before the shooting, Crooks visited a shooting range where he was a member to practice shooting, according to a law enforcement official who spoke to CNN. Saturday morning, Crooks went to a Home Depot, where he bought a five-foot ladder, and then to a gun store, where he purchased 50 rounds of ammunition, the official reported.

Crooks then drove his Hyundai Sonata about an hour north to Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. He parked the car outside the rally with an improvised explosive device concealed in the trunk, which was connected to a transmitter he had on him, the official stated.

Officials are trying to determine if Crooks used the ladder to access the roof where he shot the former President. His father legally purchased the AR-style rifle the 20-year-old used to shoot Trump's ear.

Although the motive for the attempted assassination remains unknown, records from Pennsylvania State Police indicate that more than 20 firearms registered to Crooks' father were stored at the family's home.

Additionally, both Crooks and his father were members of Clairton Sportsmen’s Club, which has about 2,000 members and features a rifle shooting range that spans roughly 200 yards, according to a CNN, who analyzed satellite images of the location.

“The Club fully admonishes the senseless act of violence that occurred,” Rob Bootay, a lawyer for the club, said, adding that he could not “make any additional commentary in relation to this matter in light of pending law enforcement investigations.”

After his ear was grazed by a bullet at a Pennsylvania rally, former president Donald Trump released a statement.

"I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin," he wrote in a Truth Social post shortly after being rushed to the hospital.  "Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening."

He later confirmed that a bullet hit his right ear. "GOD BLESS AMERICA!" he concluded.