Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old man who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump during his 2024 presidential campaign, was described by his father as being "emotionless" since birth, rarely laughing or crying, and proving difficult to read throughout his life. His father detailed instances of childhood behavioral issues, including boredom-induced vandalism and a period of associating with a "bad group of kids," alongside increasing social withdrawal and self-talk as he matured. Crooks developed a significant interest in guns as a teenager, acquiring parts to modify his rifle and using the pseudonym "Bob Dole" for online purchases, while his father noted a superficial Republican identification without deep political conviction.

Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old man who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump during his 2024 presidential campaign, was described by his father as being "emotionless" since birth, rarely laughing or crying, and proving difficult to read throughout his life. His father detailed instances of childhood behavioral issues, including boredom-induced vandalism and a period of associating with a "bad group of kids," alongside increasing social withdrawal and self-talk as he matured. Crooks developed a significant interest in guns as a teenager, acquiring parts to modify his rifle and using the pseudonym "Bob Dole" for online purchases, while his father noted a superficial Republican identification without deep political conviction.

Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old man who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump during his 2024 presidential campaign, was described by his father as being "emotionless" since birth, rarely laughing or crying, and proving difficult to read throughout his life. His father detailed instances of childhood behavioral issues, including boredom-induced vandalism and a period of associating with a "bad group of kids," alongside increasing social withdrawal and self-talk as he matured. Crooks developed a significant interest in guns as a teenager, acquiring parts to modify his rifle and using the pseudonym "Bob Dole" for online purchases, while his father noted a superficial Republican identification without deep political conviction.

The 20-year-old man, who tried to shoot US President Donald Trump during his presidential campaign in 2024, was “emotionless” since his birth, rarely laughed or cried, according to a chilling account given by his father. Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was shot dead by Secret Service agents during his bid to assassinate Trump at Butlet in Pennsylvania, never cried even during his birth.

Thomas’s father, Matthew, told federal agents that his son was very hard to read and never really expressed emotions. They never really had a father/son bond. The details were revealed in the fresh documents provided to US Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) as part of his ongoing inquiry into the Butler assassination attempt.

“When Thomas was born, he did not scream, and he was always quiet from that point on,” the New York Post quoted Matthew.

The father said he and his wife thought Thomas “had ADHD” and at one point was concerned that he had befriended a “bad group of kids for a brief period”. He also described an incident where Thomas acted out in elementary school because “he was bored.” He damaged a desk and school property for “attention”.

Matthew also narrated an incident where he once pushed his son to tears so that he could get some kind of an emotional reaction from the boy. This happened after Thomas had a fight with his sister, following which he dumped an entire container of fish food into the betta tank.

Matthew also said how he noticed a change in his son’s behaviour as he grew up, often talking to himself. Once he entered high school, he noticed Thomas had grown “a little more quiet and reserved” and started having “issues with speaking to his teachers.”

He also noted how his son worked hard to get into college and expressed interests in certain professions over the years. “At one point, Thomas wanted to join the military to work in nuclear submarines, but this was more of just an idea as Thomas thought it would be ‘cool,'” according to FBI notes.

But Thomas showed little commitment, his father said, adding that his son never showed interest in girls and also repeatedly denied being gay.

Thomas started getting into shooting and guns as a teenager, his father said, adding that the youth had once asked if he could have his grandfather’s guns.

Thomas started going to the gun club around the time of the pandemic and was a “terrible” shot but kept improving. As Thomas’ interest in guns grew, he started buying large numbers of Amazon packages, including “parts, tools and items to increase the capacity of his rifle.” He often used the pseudonym “Bob Dole” for his delivery address.

He did not have any political inclination. “Thomas called himself a Republican. Thomas did not like the welfare state and was against the ‘woke’ ideology but never really espoused the Republican ideology,” Matthew said of his son.

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