After the FBI identified the gunman who shot at former President Donald Trump as Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, CBS News and other outlets reviewed public records that verified that he was a registered Republican who had previously donated $15 to a Democratic organization via ActBlue. 

The apparent contradiction in Crooks' political alignment didn't fit an easy partisan narrative, and so far, investigators say, many questions about his motive remain unanswered. Some social media users seized on the lack of information to spread false claims and cast doubt on whether the gunman actually made the donation.

Posts spinning a tale of mistaken identity quickly spread. "Thomas Crooks, who donated 15 bucks to Act Blue, is a 69-year-old Democrat who lives in Pittsburgh and just happens to have the same name as the Republican who shot Trump," one X user inaccurately claimed.

In fact, Federal Election Commission records show that the Bethel Park address on the $15 donation, earmarked to Progressive Turnout Project, is the same street address and ZIP code where the gunman lived. But the municipality is mistakenly listed as Pittsburgh, despite Bethel Park being outside Pittsburgh city limits. In screenshots of the FEC filing shared on social media, users blurred Crooks' street address, causing confusion. 

Crooks made the donation on Jan. 20, 2021, the same day President Biden was inaugurated. At that point he would have been 17 years old. He was not eligible to register as a Republican or vote in the 2020 election at the time.

Progressive Turnout Project, the organization Crooks donated to, racks up millions in small-dollar donations, but The Washington Post reported in 2019 on criticism of the group for its aggressive and at times misleading fundraising tactics. The group's executive director acknowledged that the fundraising emails can be "provocative or alarming" but defended the approach to The Post because "we are in a frightening time in our country."

The donation was made in response to an email asking recipients if they planned to watch the inauguration, and Crooks unsubscribed from the group's email list two years ago, a representative from the organization wrote in an email to CBS News. 

At this point in its investigation, the FBI says Crooks' political beliefs and motives for attempting to assassinate Trump are unclear. His parents are registered Democrat and Libertarian, public records show.

Former high school classmates described him as a good student, a "nice kid," not someone who seemed capable of violence. He belonged to a gun club and used an AR-style rifle in the shooting that had been legally purchased by his father a decade before. 

Law enforcement sources said the gunman searched on his phone for images of Trump and President Biden ahead of the shooting. They said he also did searches for Trump's appearances and dates; the Democratic National Convention; and FBI Director Christopher Wray, Attorney General Merrick Garland and members of the British royal family. He also searched for information about major depressive disorder.

"It is remarkable how unremarkable the shooter is," said Senator Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, at a press conference after a briefing call with the FBI. "But this unremarkable situation, according to the FBI, is not disclosing anything that shows him to be extraordinary from a political perspective. That may change, maybe more information will come out."

In:
• Shooting
• Trump Rally
• Donald Trump

Julia Ingram

Julia Ingram is a data journalist for CBS News Confirmed. She covers misinformation, AI and social media using computational methods. Contact Julia at [email protected].

Twitter