The father of Donald Trump’s attempted assassin, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was reportedly profiled during the 2016 presidential election. One neighbor claims Crooks’ family kept MAGA decorations in their yard until recently.
Matthew Brian Crooks, 53, who legally purchased the AR-15 rifle used in the weekend attack on his son in Butler, Pennsylvania, had been identified by the Trump campaign as a voter in a key battleground state who was likely to respond favorably to pro-gun control messaging. According to data obtained by the UK’s Channel 4 News.
The campaign’s private database analyzed the Keystone State’s 6.7 million people – roughly half the state’s population – to identify voters who could be targeted with gun rights messages ahead of the 2016 election.
Crooks’ father is a registered Libertarian and the database identifies him as a staunch Republican, a possible gun owner and “hunter.” Crooks was among the top 20 highest-scoring residents in his hometown of Bethel Park, population 19,000, according to the report.
The shooter’s mother is a Democrat and was seen by the Trump campaign as a gun owner who might be sympathetic to his pro-gun control message.
The 20-year-old gunman who opened fire on President Trump during a rally in Butler on Saturday, grazed his right ear, killed a heroic firefighter and critically injured two others, lived with his parents in the Pittsburgh suburbs.
Until recently, the front yard of the family’s Bethel Park home was decorated with pro-Trump and MAGA decor, including yard signs. one of the family’s neighbors told WPXI.
“There was kind of a MAGA following for a while,” said neighbor Kelly Little, who was evacuated from her home for 24 hours as authorities removed the device from the Crooks’ home.
“It’s been very frustrating. I’m exhausted. I’m glad it’s over but I’m not looking forward to all the strangers lurking in my neighborhood,” she added.
The Crooks family has remained silent and is cooperating with authorities as they investigate the shooting.
Authorities have not yet revealed a motive for the attack.
