Federal law enforcement officials have launched a full investigation into the shooting at presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday. The incident has ignited a storm of political accusations and concerns about escalating division in the United States ahead of the November elections.
Journalists and political observers expressed fear that the act of violence would further deepen political turmoil. Boston Globe reporter James Pindell, who was at the rally, shared that Trump supporters “turned on the media”—a frequent target of Trump during his presidency—after the shooting.
“The crowd was angry,” Pindell wrote. “Middle fingers were everywhere. They asked the press if they were happy and blamed the media. ‘You did this,’ they said to reporters.”
Allies of Trump, including Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.), and former White House adviser Stephen Miller, immediately placed blame on President Joe Biden. They claimed the attack was a result of warnings that re-electing Trump would threaten democracy.
Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) denounced Collins’ claim that Biden “sent the orders,” calling it “a continuation of the rhetoric that drives political violence.”
“A likely assassination attempt and gun violence on Trump is awful on many levels,” said Pocan. “Adding jet fuel to the political climate is unbecoming of a member of Congress.”
Trump, who spread baseless claims that the 2020 election was rigged against him and urged his supporters to riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, has said he would act as a dictator on “day one” of his potential presidency.
Dozens of people who worked in his administration helped to write Project 2025, a far-right political agenda aimed at consolidating presidential power and dismantling parts of the federal government. Trump has also named political opponents he aims to prosecute and pledged to deploy the military to stop political protests.
“One response to Trump’s attempted shooting (apparently by a registered Republican) we must NOT take is to stop framing the existential nature of this election,” said political organizer Aaron Regunberg. “The problem isn’t Democrats saying Trump is attacking our democracy—the problem is that he’s attacking our democracy.”
The shooting resulted in the death of one audience member and serious injuries to two others. The gunman, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, fired several shots from a rooftop near Butler Farm Show, where the rally was held.
Trump was escorted off the stage after a bullet “pierced the upper part of his right ear,” according to The New York Times. The Secret Service reported that Crooks had been killed after firing his weapon, and officials found an AR-15-type semiautomatic rifle near his body. Authorities have not yet identified a motive for the shooting.
Crooks was registered as a Republican in his hometown, and records show that someone named Thomas Crooks donated $15 to a liberal voter turnout campaign called the Progressive Turnout Project in January 2021.
“This remains an active and ongoing investigation,” the FBI said in a statement on Sunday. Law enforcement agents have closed down all roads leading to the home of the suspect’s family in Bethel Park in the Pittsburgh area.
David Hogg, who survived the 2018 Parkland, Florida, school shooting and co-founded March for Our Lives, commented on the shooting. He said the gunman’s ability to fire at the president and kill an audience member while in the presence of Secret Service agents and police is the latest proof that people across the U.S. are vulnerable to gun violence due to a lack of strict gun control laws.
“What happened today is unacceptable and what happens every day to kids who aren’t the president and don’t survive isn’t either,” said Hogg. “It’s insane we have such a major problem with gun violence in America that no one—not even a presidential candidate—is safe.”
The shooting has prompted varied reactions from political leaders. GOP allies like Sen. J.D. Vance, Rep. Lauren Boebert, Rep. Mike Collins, and Stephen Miller quickly blamed President Biden, claiming his rhetoric incited the violence. However, Democratic leaders have condemned these accusations.
Rep. Mark Pocan called Collins’ claim “a continuation of the rhetoric that drives political violence.” Pocan added, “A likely assassination attempt and gun violence on Trump is awful on many levels. Adding jet fuel to the political climate is unbecoming of a member of Congress.”
Trump’s spokesperson, Steven Cheung, said in a statement that the former president was being examined at a local medical facility and was in “fine” condition. President Biden condemned the violence, calling it “sick” and a reason to unite the country. “We cannot condone this,” Biden said. “The bottom line is, the Trump rally was a rally that should have been able to be conducted peacefully without any problem… Everybody must condemn it.”
Other leaders, such as Sen. Bernie Sanders and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, also condemned the violence. “Violence has NO place in our democracy,” Newsom stated. “My thoughts are with President Trump and everyone impacted at the rally today.”
Journalists, including Boston Globe reporter James Pindell, described the hostile environment at the rally, with Trump supporters blaming the media for the violence. Pindell reported that the crowd turned on the media, shouting and making obscene.
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