Details Emerge About Thomas Crooks and His Attempt on President Trump’s Life
Before attempting to assassinate President Trump, Thomas Crooks, who used they/them pronouns, allegedly posted threats of political violence and violent art on secret social media accounts, as reported by sources who shared these messages.
The shooter, who grazed Trump’s ear, also tragically killed a firefighter and injured two other Trump supporters. Interestingly, he had a “muscle mommy” fascination, searching for videos related to female bodybuilders and muscular women.
Miranda Devine from the newspaper revealed these findings earlier this week. It seems that Crooks operated two accounts on DeviantArt, a website known for hosting fan art, particularly popular in the furry community, which caters to people attracted to anthropomorphic animal characters.
One of Crooks’ DeviantArt accounts featured a single post, showcasing a tall, muscular female bodybuilder alongside a petite man in underwear.
Moreover, Crooks’ purported YouTube search history included multiple searches for muscular women and female bodybuilders. Although his DeviantArt profile lists they/them pronouns, it remains unclear if he identifies as transgender.
Authorities found a digital trail leading back almost a decade to when he attempted to kill Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. They noted an increasing interest in violence as well as extremist comments and artwork, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Investigative tools linked several email addresses to Crooks, revealing usernames across platforms like YouTube, Snapchat, PayPal, Discord, Chess.com, Quora, and DeviantArt.
Initially, Crooks appeared to have a pro-Trump stance in his early online presence, though he also made many violent anti-Semitic and racist remarks about Hispanic immigrants. For instance, he once stated, “I’ve always believed that being patriotic meant lining up a bunch of socialist Jews (like the people who booed Trump) and blowing their useless brains out with AR.”
He further expressed violent intent towards Democrats, saying, “All the Democrats who hate Trump deserve to have their heads cut off and put on their steaks to show the world what happens when they fight America.” He openly discussed his desire to use assault rifles against crowds of political opponents, often quoting Mao Zedong’s infamous line about political power originating from gun violence.
Additionally, he made threats against Democratic members of “The Squad.” In a July 20, 2019 post, he expressed a wish for the death of “deplorable immigrants and anti-Trump members of Congress.” However, in 2020, during the pandemic, he voiced a complete shift in his views on Trump, accusing him of being racist and commenting that he didn’t need the “deep state” to believe that.
His online activities during this period revealed a disillusionment with Trump, primarily stemming from the latter’s perceived resistance to public health measures amid the pandemic. By April 2020, he was criticizing Trump for acting “too late” on the issue.
Around this time, he also began sharing violent artwork. One piece dated June 10, 2023, featured a figure executing another person against a background in the colors of the Trans Pride flag. Other works depicted violent scenes involving figures in blue and pink, further showcasing his disturbing interests.
His YouTube and Google searches presented a concerning pattern of fascination with violence, high-profile assassinations, and firearms. He researched notable incidents like the assassination of Lee Harvey Oswald’s killer, Jack Ruby, the Oklahoma bombing, and the Pulse nightclub shooting.
Additionally, he sought information on how to fire an AR15 quickly and how to create makeshift explosives. As his outlook grew increasingly nihilistic in August 2020, he discussed employing “terrorist-style tactics” against the government. He articulated his belief that such actions might be the only way to fight governmental authority.
He acknowledged that a direct confrontation would likely lead to failure and death.
