To everyone’s shock and horror, President Trump was nearly assassinated yesterday. The already iconic image of his fist pump and saying “fight! Fight!” are the most quintessentially American things I’ve seen in decades and truly underscore why Trump is so popular with an ever-growing number of Americans.
Here is the, as of this writing, most recent photo of President Trump arriving in New Jersey.
[NOTE: We will be updating this post as more information about the would-be assassin becomes known]
Donald Trump was seen striding down the steps of his private plane, Trump Force One, in the first image of the former president since a would-be assassin’s bullet nearly took his life.The former president was flanked by Secret Service as he walked down to the tarmac at Newark Liberty International Airport after midnight — around the same time his would-be assassin was identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks.. . . . The shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was killed by Secret Service snipers.
Here is a reported image of the dead suspect.
The full text of the above:
NEW: Footage from Bethel Park High School’s 2022 graduation ceremony shows a ‘Thomas Crooks’ getting his diploma. The New York Post is reporting that Thomas Matthew Crooks was the suspect who shot Trump.Videos are being shared online of a man claiming to be Crooks however the videos appear to be a troll.For further clarification, the suspect *is* still being reported as Thomas Matthew Crooks but some images and videos being shared online are *not* the real suspect.
A separate New York Post article has images of police approaching the dead would-be assassin on the roof, along with some graphic video content.
The New York Times has more about this dead . . . um, person.
The gunman who attempted to assassinate former President Donald J. Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday was identified by the F.B.I. as Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old from Bethel Park, Pa., but officials released no additional information about him.“This remains an active and ongoing investigation,” the F.B.I. said in a statement early Sunday.The gunman did not have a criminal history reflected in Pennsylvania’s public court records, and officials said they had not identified a motive. A voter-registration record showed that Mr. Crooks was registered as a Republican, though federal campaign-finance records show he donated $15 to the Progressive Turnout Project, a liberal voter turnout group, through the Democratic donation platform ActBlue in January 2021.. . . . Mr. Crooks was killed after he fired from “an elevated position” outside the outdoor rally venue where Mr. Trump was speaking, according to the Secret Service. Law enforcement officials recovered an AR-15-type semiautomatic rifle near the body of a white man they believe was the gunman, according to two law enforcement officials.Mr. Crooks appears to have graduated in 2022 from Bethel Park High School, which has about 1,400 students, and received a $500 “star award” that year from the National Math and Science Initiative, according to The Tribune-Review in western Pennsylvania.In an online recording of the 2022 graduation ceremony, Mr. Crooks can be seen crossing the stage to modest applause after his name is called out, a slender young man with glasses in a black graduation gown who briefly posed with a school official and accepted his diploma.
From the NY Times “live updates” section:
The authorities were racing on Sunday to understand how and why a would-be assassin shot at former President Donald J. Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania, days before his anticipated nomination as the Republican candidate for the 2024 presidential election.The shocking attack in Butler, Pa., on Saturday killed one spectator at the scene and left two others critically injured, officials said. Mr. Trump had blood on his face as he was escorted from the stage, raising his fist in defiance.
The NY Times continues:
Mr. Trump was rushed to a hospital from the rally, but walked off his plane unaided when it landed in New Jersey early Sunday.On Sunday morning, questions remained about a motive for the shooting, potential security failures and the Secret Service’s preparations for the rally. The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability said it would be investigating the assassination attempt and had asked Kimberly Cheatle, the director of the Secret Service, to testify at a hearing on July 22.
God Bless President Trump, and God Bless America.
UPDATES
Per LI commenter Danny, the Daily Wire reports:
Federal Election Commission records show that on January 20, 2021—Biden’s inauguration day—the 20-year old Crooks donated $15 through ActBlue, the progressive donation clearinghouse, to the Progressive Turnout Project, which says it “is dedicated to mobilizing the Democratic party and defending democracy.” In donor records, he listed his occupation as unemployed, and listed the address descended upon by police.
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