Gunman Who Tried To Assassinate Trump Was ‘Definitely Conservative,’ Classmate Confirms

Former President Donald Trump's assassination attempt on Saturday continues to confuse the public as the FBI has yet to reveal the motive of the perpetrator who was a registered Republican. The shooter, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was perched atop a building, 150 yards from Trump's rally stage in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Trump suffered a minor graze to his right ear while stray bullets killed a rallygoer and critically injured two others. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that classmates of the 20-year-old remember him as a well-mannered right-winger, as per the Daily Beast. “He definitely was conservative,” classmate Max R. Smith told the outlet. “It makes me wonder why he would carry out an assassination attempt on the conservative candidate.”

Smith, who took an American history class with Crooks, recalled a mock debate in which their teacher asked students to stand on opposite sides of the classroom to indicate their ideology. “The majority of the class were on the liberal side, but Tom, no matter what, always stood his ground on the conservative side,” Smith said. “That’s still the picture I have of him. Just standing alone on one side while the rest of the class was on the other.”

Public records appear to support the claim that Crook was a right-winger. Crooks registered as a Republican in September 2021, the month he turned 18. Some media outlets have also pointed out that Crooks was noticed wearing a T-shirt from the gun-endorsing 'Demolition Ranch' YouTube channel. However, records also show that in 2020, Crooks donated $15 to the liberal Progressive Turnout Project PAC. 

Crooks lived in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Bethel Park, approximately one hour's drive south of the Trump event. CNN spoke with a student who described him as shy but a highly intelligent honors student. She claimed he had a rather conservative circle of friends, some of whom wore Trump MAGA caps. Others disclosed that he was a 'loner' who was rejected from the school firing squad.

Jason Kohler, 21, who attended the same high school, revealed that Crooks was teased by other classmates. Kohler shared that Crooks had 'no facial expression' when he wandered through the high school corridors. “He wasn’t, like, with the clique, so he always had, I guess, a target on his back,” the classmate shared.

Meanwhile, Crooks' father told CNN late Saturday night that he was trying to figure out "what the hell [was] going on" and that he would wait until he talked to law enforcement before discussing his son with the media. FBI officials continued to piece together Crooks' motivations, as did his old classmates and family. FBI agent Kevin Rojek stated that efforts are being made to obtain access to Crooks' phone. Investigators think he acted alone, but they're still searching for potential accomplices.