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Was the Trump Shooter Really In A BlackRock Commercial? Thomas Crooks's Former Classmates Recount Him Being Bullied And Failing Rifle Team Tryouts As Details Spread Online
The facts about Donald Trump's would-be assassin have slowly been unraveling in the aftermath of the deadly shooting at a Republican rally in Butler, Pennsylvania Saturday evening.
While Trump himself managed to escape death by a hair's breadth, Thomas Matthew Crooks, the man now identified as the Trump shooter, hit two rally attendees and fatally injured another before he was shot dead himself by Trump's Secret Service.
Now, former classmates have come forward to give their accounts of Crooks's life at Bethel Park High School, even as photos of the shooter wearing Demolition Ranch merch and clips of him in a two-year-old BlackRock commercial continue to make the rounds online. Misleading posts by Twitter / X user @jewgazing in which he impersonated the shooter have also added confusion to the facts.
Here's everything we know so far about Thomas Crooks and how the historic event unfolded online.
Who Is Thomas Matthew Crooks And What Do We Know About Him?
Thomas Crooks is the 20-year-old Pennsylvania man now identified as the person who nearly killed Donald Trump and fatally injured Republican rally attendee Corey Comperatore on July 13th, 2024. Crooks reportedly took aim from a nearby rooftop that was left unguarded by Trump's Secret Service and managed to graze Trump's ear before he himself was killed by security.
Early images of Crooks lifted from security footage in the area showed him sporting longer hair, glasses and a grey shirt with YouTuber Demolition Ranch's logo on it. The popular YouTube channel posts about firearms and explosives, and their official Facebook page made a post about the shooter late on July 13th after images of Crooks wearing the merch were spread online.
According to Crooks's former classmates, he was a quiet kid who was often bullied for wearing hunting gear and camouflage to school. Moreover, Crooks reportedly tried out for his school's rifle team, but couldn't make it on account of his poor aim.
Was Thomas Crooks In A BlackRock Commercial?
Crooks did make a brief appearance in a BlackRock commercial shot at his high school in 2022. The YouTube video was posted on BlackRock's channel on May 16th, 2022, and was pulled from circulation soon after he was identified in the footage on July 14th, 2024. Crooks can be seen at the 19-second mark in the 30-second video shown below.
🔴 HASARD ? | Celui qui a tenté d'assassiner Donald Trump, Thomas Matthew Crooks, apparaissait dans une publicité pour BlackRock en 2023 (0:19). Les Fake Checkeurs payés grâce au Fond Marianne nous expliqueront sûrement qu'il s'agit d'une simple coïncidence ! pic.twitter.com/zYoti3h4Gg
— GÉOPOLITIQUE PROFONDE (@GPTVoff) July 15, 2024
Who Is @jewgazing, And Did Thomas Crooks Say He 'Hates Republicans' and 'Hates Trump'?
After the shooter's identity was revealed, Twitter / X user @jewgazing posted an image of himself after he realized his striking resemblance to Crooks, going so far as to post an image posing as Crooks with the caption, "breaking: the trump shooter has been identified."
While Thomas Crooks's motives for his attempt to assassinate Trump are unclear, a video created by @jewgazing was circulated in conservative circles after people mistook him for Crooks. In the video, @jewgazing says, "I hate Republicans, I hate Trump, and guess what? You got the wrong guy." The video was soon deleted and is understood to have been a joke posted by the Twitter user.
— Ryan Dawson (@RyLiberty) July 14, 2024
Why Were Internet Users Celebrating The Shooter Being A 'Cis White Male'?
The confusion surrounding Crooks's identity and motives in the aftermath of the Trump rally shooting led to some progressive internet users fearing the impact the event had on the 2024 Presidential Election.
Many progressive internet users posted jokes celebrating that the shooter was a white male and not a racial minority, with the idea that the latter may have further bolstered Trump's campaign and supporters or added additional fuel to the number of conspiracy theories spreading online in the incident's aftermath.
For the full history of Thomas Matthew Crooks, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.
