Thomas Matthew Crooks, the suspect in the attempted assassination of former President Trump, appears in an advertisement for asset management firm BlackRock in 2022, the company confirmed to The Hill on Monday.
BlackRock’s ad was filmed at Bethel Park High School in Pennsylvania, and features Crooks and other unpaid students appearing briefly alongside real teachers, the company said in an emailed statement.
The company stopped distributing the video but provided all the footage to authorities.
This ad was originally campaign “About BlackRock” is an article focused on the management of the U.S. public school teachers’ retirement system.
Crooks graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022, but former classmates told reporters they were relentlessly bullied and often felt alone.
Authorities said a man opened fire at a Trump rally at an agricultural trade fair in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, wounding the former president and killing a spectator. The Secret Service said two other attendees were seriously injured.
Crooks was shot and killed by Secret Service agents on a nearby rooftop.
Investigators said Sunday that a motive was still under investigation, but that they had found bomb-making materials in the gunman’s car and home.
BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, condemned the violence in a comment about the ad.
“The assassination attempt against former President Trump is abhorrent. We are grateful that former President Trump was not seriously injured, and our thoughts are with the innocent bystanders and victims of this horrific act, especially those who were murdered,” the company said.
“As our leadership communicated to colleagues on Saturday evening, BlackRock strongly condemns political violence of any kind and intends to do our part to promote civility and unity in the country,” it added.
