As authorities release more information about Trump’s reclusive personality and lack of social skills, questions are emerging about whether the parents of would-be Trump assassin Thomas Crooks could face charges in their son’s shooting.
“You have to prove it somehow beyond a reasonable doubt. [Crooks’ parents] “Either aided and abetted his ability to plan this assassination attempt or in some way knew what he was doing and provided some means to carry it out,” Matthew Mangino, a Pennsylvania-based attorney with the law firm Luxenberg, Garbett, Kelly & George, told Fox News Digital. “I think it would be hard to prove that beyond a reasonable doubt.”
But Mangino added that “civil liability is an entirely different story.”
To bring a civil lawsuit against Crooks’ parents, there would need to be “overwhelming evidence that they could have or should have intervened to protect not only the former president but also the American people and the deceased victim.”
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Undated photograph of Thomas Matthew Crookes. (Courtesy of AFP)
Crooks appears to have researched Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley shortly before the assassination attempt, a source familiar with the matter previously told Fox News Digital. In Crumbley’s case, his parents were indicted and convicted of four counts of manslaughter in connection with their son’s crime. But a key difference between Crumbley’s and Crooks’ cases is Crooks’ age.
Crooks was 20 years old when he was shot and killed by a sniper during the assassination attempt on July 13. The FBI said in a press conference on Monday that the AR-15 that Crooks fired at the president was legally owned by Crooks’ father, who had transferred ownership to his son before the incident.
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Sniper photograph of Thomas Matthew Crooks. (Senator Ron Johnson’s Office)
Special Agent Kevin Rojek of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office said Crooks also purchased 25 firearms and six chemical precursors “to materials used in making explosives, which were recovered in his vehicle and home” after the assassination attempt.
Crooks’ parents reportedly told investigators that he had always been interested in science experiments and that they were accustomed to receiving packages addressed to their son at home.
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Thomas Crooks’ parents, Matthew and Mary Crooks, return to their home in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, July 24, 2024. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
Crooks’ father, Matthew Crooks, was seen leaving a Pittsburgh office building that houses two law firms on Monday.
He did not respond to questions about whether his family had noticed any warning signs before the assassination attempt on their son.
The shooter’s father previously told Fox News Digital: “We will make a statement once our lawyers give us their recommendations. Until then I can’t comment. Right now we just want to protect ourselves. Please give us some time.”
Matthew Crooks waits outside an office building in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Monday, July 29, 2024. Matthew Crooks is the father of Thomas Crooks, the man who attempted to assassinate President Trump. (DWS for Fox News Digital)
Brian Stewart, an attorney with the Utah law firm Parker & McConkie, said “no one” should require parents to supervise adults “all the time (or at all times).”
“Based on the latest information provided by the FBI, it appears unlikely that Crooks’ parents will face criminal or civil liability for their son’s actions.”
Rojek said Crooks’ parents have been “very cooperative” with the FBI so far in the investigation, and FBI officials also have no evidence that Crooks conspired with any co-conspirators to carry out the scheme.
Investigators visit Thomas Crooks’ neighbors. (Derek Shook/Fox News Digital)
“Criminal charges and/or civil lawsuits are possible if the ongoing investigation reveals that Crooks’ father illegally transferred an AR-15 to his son or had reason to expect it would be used in the commission of a crime,” Stewart said. “However, to date, the FBI has found no information to suggest that anyone else was involved in this attack, and we believe there was no indication from Crooks’ parents that Crooks was planning to assassinate Trump.”
Stewart also said, “If evidence is found that the parents had some knowledge of their son’s plot to assassinate Trump, or that they recklessly ignored alarming behavior or activity, then a lawsuit against them would be possible and its success would clearly depend on the strength of the evidence.”
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FBI agents visited the home of attempted Trump assassin Thomas Crooks in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. (AFP/Reuters/Aaron Jozefczyk)
New York City attorney Nicole Brenecki also pointed out that Crooks’ age could pose a problem in pursuing criminal charges against her parents.
“Following the sentencing of James and Jennifer Crumbly in the Michigan school shooting, district attorneys may consider bringing charges against the Trump shooter’s father. The biggest weakness in any such case would be the age of Matthew Thomas Crooks; he was almost 21 at the time of the shooting,” Brennecki said.
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The FBI on Monday described Crooks as a “loner” and “highly intelligent,” citing his college education and ability to hold a full-time job. Authorities are still working to determine Crooks’ motives for attempting to assassinate President Trump.
