Saturday, July 20, 2024

Thomas Matthew Crooks is More Like Arthur Bremer Than John Wilkes Booth

It has been one week since Thomas Matthew Crooks made an attempt on the life of former President Trump. While he wounded Trump, he ended up killing an attendee while wounding two other men. 

Trump's supporters including his VP pick J.D. Vance have laid the blame directly at President Biden.

Yet Crooks internet search history reveals he also did research on President Biden and the upcoming Democratic National Convention

While we will probably never learn his motive for trying to assassinate Trump, it would appear that Crooks is more like Arthur Bremer than John Wilkes Booth.

Booth, of course, supported the Confederacy and was motivated to assassinate Abraham Lincoln because of his decision to abolish slavery. Bremer, on the other hand, was an outcast who wanted notoriety as a means to end what had been a miserable life. Although Bremer shot and wounded George Wallace, his initial objective was to assassinate President Nixon. Indeed, Bremer tried to carry out his plan to assassinate Nixon during a state visit to Canada but couldn't get close to the 37th President. 

There is nothing in Crooks limited online and social media history which would indicate he despised Trump in the same way Booth despised Lincoln. Given Crooks' internet research on Biden and the Democratic National Convention, it is quite possible that he could have just as easily targeted President Biden had the opportunity presented itself.

Of course, Bremer wrote An Assassin's Diary. Crooks did not leave any such extensive documentation. But like Bremer, Crooks was an outcast. In which case, it is possible Crooks thought he would gain glory by assassinating Trump. 

Unlike Crooks, Bremer survived, served 35 years in prison and was paroled in 2007. Bremer's parole ends on June 15, 2025 - less than a year from now. He has chosen to remain silent on the subject living quietly in Cumberland, Maryland. Yet given what happened a week ago, Bremer might understand Crooks in a way no one else ever could. 

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