Posts

Trump Shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks’ Father Speaks Out for First Time After Son Tried to Assassinate Ex- Prez

/2 Comments/in , /by

The father of would-be Donald Trump assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks has revealed the family is just trying to “take care of ourselves” — as he stepped out in public for the first time since the shooting.

Matthew Brian Crooks, 53, made the remarks as he was spotted leaving a grocery store on Monday, Fox News reported.

“We just want to try to take care of ourselves right now. Please, just give us our space,” Crooks said as he loaded bag-loads of items into his car.

“We’re going to release a statement when our legal counsel advises us to do so – until then, we have no comment.”

It marks the first time the dad has spoken out since his 20-year-old son opened fire with an AR-15 rifle during Trump’s campaign rally in Butler, Pa. on July 13. (Read more from “Trump Shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks’ Father Speaks Out for First Time After Son Tried to Assassinate Ex- Prez” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

‘Morning Joe’ Guest Says It is ‘Impossible’ to Believe in Christian Values While Supporting Trump (VIDEO)

/3 Comments/in , /by

The Lincoln Project’s Stuart Stevens said on Tuesday it is “impossible” for supporters of Republican nominee Donald Trump to truly believe in Christian values.

Stevens said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that some evangelical leaders are conflicted with their community’s support for Trump. He questioned whether Christians voting for the Republican nominee truly believe what they claim to.

“I don’t think this is really very complicated. I think sadly it’s exposed at the heart of a lot of these voters the fact that they don’t really believe what they say that they believe,” Stevens said. “It is impossible to say that you believe in Christian values and support a man like Donald Trump. I think that you just can’t reconcile that.”

(Read more from “‘Morning Joe’ Guest Says It is ‘Impossible’ to Believe in Christian Values While Supporting Trump” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Secret Service Advises Trump Campaign to Move Indoors Amidst Assassination Attempt Fallout

/0 Comments/in , /by

In the wake of the recent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, the Secret Service has reportedly advised his campaign to halt outdoor rallies and events, and hold them indoors.

Sources close to the matter, speaking anonymously to the Washington Post, revealed that the Secret Service has directly engaged with Trump campaign advisers, urging them to avoid large outdoor gatherings in light of security vulnerabilities exposed by the July 13 shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania. During that rally, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks fired a shot that narrowly missed Trump, piercing the upper part of his right ear.

The campaign, which traditionally thrives on the energy and spectacle of outdoor rallies, is now considering venues like basketball arenas and other expansive indoor spaces that can accommodate thousands of supporters.

“Indoor rallies provide a level of security because you can control who enters through a limited number of entry points,” explained a campaign official who spoke anonymously to discuss internal planning. “However, they lack the same dynamic and impact of outdoor rallies, where the atmosphere is electrifying.”

Since the attempted assassination, the Secret Service has faced mounting criticism over lapses in security that allowed Crooks to fire from a nearby rooftop undetected. Former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle recently faced intense questioning from lawmakers during a hearing before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee. Both Democrats and Republicans grilled Cheatle on security perimeter protocols and why suspicious activities were not addressed promptly.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) queried Cheatle on why the security perimeter did not extend beyond the range of an AR-15 rifle. Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL) pressed Cheatle on the handling of suspicious persons at the rally and the decision-making process that led to the tragic incident.

Cheatle’s resignation from her position as director followed the contentious hearing, signaling ongoing turmoil within the agency amidst calls for accountability and reforms in security protocols.

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Report: Phone Linked to Would-Be Trump Assassin Near FBI Offices in 2023

/4 Comments/in , , /by

Recent revelations from the Heritage Oversight Project have intensified scrutiny surrounding the attempted assassination of former President Donald J. Trump, shedding light on alarming geo-location findings involving the perpetrator, Thomas Matthew Crooks.

According to a report by the Heritage Oversight Project, a phone associated with Crooks visited the Gallery Place building in Washington, D.C., which houses the FBI offices, on June 26th, 2023. The phone reportedly “pinged” multiple times from that location, raising concerns about potential connections or reconnaissance activities prior to the attempted attack.

Crooks, 20, was fatally shot by a Secret Service counter-sniper after opening fire on Trump and attendees at the July 13 event, narrowly missing the former president due to a timely movement. The shooting claimed the life of retired fire chief Corey Comperatore and left two others seriously injured, sparking a nationwide debate on security protocols and the motives behind the attack.

The Oversight Project, a division of the Heritage Foundation, initiated a comprehensive geo-location investigation immediately following the incident, utilizing data from phones associated with Crooks’ home and work addresses. This investigation aimed to track the movements and potential accomplices of the assailant.

Geo-location technology identified several devices linked to Crooks that traveled from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, to strategic locations including Butler and even Logan International Airport in Boston. The report highlighted trips made to surveil the Butler site ahead of the Trump rally, suggesting premeditated planning.

Furthermore, a phone associated with Crooks was reported to have visited the Allegheny Arms & Gun Works, adding to questions about how he accessed firearms and conducted surveillance undetected.

“We began this investigation on the night of the shooting and have been working tirelessly since then,” a spokesperson for the Oversight Project told Blaze News.

The findings underscore significant gaps in security protocols and raise critical questions about how an individual with limited firearms experience could orchestrate such a sophisticated attack. Concerns have also been voiced regarding potential connections between Crooks and individuals or entities that facilitated his actions.

Photo credit: Flickr

Trump Gunman Had Michigan School Shooter’s Photo, Foreign Encrypted Apps, FBI Tells Congress

/0 Comments/in , /by

While Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle frustrated lawmakers Monday with sparse details about the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, the FBI has disclosed to Congress that the shooter used three encrypted communications apps ostensibly tied to Germany, Brussels and New Zealand and also possessed an arrest photo of an earlier Michigan school shooter, Just the News has confirmed.

In multiple briefings, FBI leaders told lawmakers that the 20-year-old would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks’ primary cell phone has become an important focal point of the probe, including some 14,000 images that were found on it, according to multiple sources familiar with the briefings. The FBI has not issued an update on their findings to the public since July 14.

That phone included an arrest photo and other information related to Ethan Crumbley, who was convicted in the deadly 2021 shooting at Oxford High School in Michigan, as well as information about Crumbley’s parents, the sources said, speaking only on condition of anonymity.

The phone also included stock images of firearms and guns, articles regarding U.S. government figures as well as a screenshot of online live coverage of July 13 rally saved at 6:01pm, about 10 minutes before Crooks began shooting from a rooftop near the Butler, Pa., venue where Trump was speaking.

One of the most tantalizing pieces of evidence from the phone, according to the sources, was three foreign encrypted platforms used by Crooks that were apparently based in Germany, New Zealand, and Belgium. The encryption on the apps “poses a significant challenge,” according to one source. (Read more from “Trump Gunman Had Michigan School Shooter’s Photo, Foreign Encrypted Apps, FBI Tells Congress” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

Trump Camp Reportedly Rejected RFK Jr’s Offer to Trade an Endorsement for Government Position

/1 Comment/in , /by

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. held talks with Donald Trump’s team about a potential endorsement and job in the former president’s second administration, according to a report from The Washington Post.

The Post’s Josh Dawsey and Michael Scherer, citing four people familiar with the situation, reported on Monday that conversations about a Kennedy Jr. endorsement began shortly after the attempted assassination of Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania earlier this month.

“I have a lot of respect for President Trump for reaching out to me. Nobody from the DNC, high or low, has ever reached out to me in 18 months. Instead they have allocated millions to try to disrupt my campaign,” Kennedy Jr. said.

The independent presidential candidate would only say about the conversations that “I am willing to talk to anybody from either political party who wants to talk about children’s health and how to end the chronic disease epidemic.” . . .

“President Trump met with RFK and they had a conversation about the issues just as he does regularly with important figures in business and politics because they all recognize he will be the next president of the United States,” a Trump spokesperson said. (Read more from “Trump Camp Reportedly Rejected RFK Jr’s Offer to Trade an Endorsement for Government Position” HERE)

Security Had Reportedly Been Stationed on Rooftop Used by Trump Rally Shooter, but Abandoned It Due to ‘Hot Weather’

/2 Comments/in , /by

Law enforcement at Donald Trump’s Pennsylvania rally reportedly had an individual stationed atop the “sloped” roof used by the shooter prior to the incident, but it was abandoned because of “hot weather,” according to a whistleblower familiar with Secret Service planning.

Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley released a letter on X (formerly known as Twitter) to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas on Monday, calling out Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle’s previous claim that security had not been stationed on the roof where gunshots were later fired from due to it being “sloped,” according to NBC News.

“Contrary to Director Cheatle’s public statements about the ‘safety’ of the sloped roof of American Glass Research Building 6, one whistleblower with direct knowledge of Secret Service planning for the event alleges that there was supposed to be a law enforcement presence on the roof that day,” Hawley wrote.

Hawley claimed a whistleblower alleges “at least one” security agent had been posted on the rooftop of the American Glass Research Building 6, but later “abandoned his or her post,” leaving law enforcement to “forego patrolling” the building.

“In fact, the whistleblower alleges that at least one individual was specifically assigned to the roof for the duration of the rally, but this person abandoned his or her post due to the hot weather. The whistleblower further alleges that concerns over the heat prompted law enforcement to forego patrolling Building 6 and instead to station security personnel inside the building,” Hawley wrote. (Read more from “Security Had Reportedly Been Stationed on Rooftop Used by Trump Rally Shooter, but Abandoned It Due to ‘Hot Weather'” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Pastor Reveals What Trump Did After Massive Fire Torches Historic Church Sanctuary at First Baptist Church

/1 Comment/in , , /by

Pastor Robert Jeffress, leader of the historic First Baptist Church in Dallas, said former President Donald Trump reached out after the church’s historic sanctuary burned down.

On Friday shortly after 6 p.m., Dallas Fire and Rescue received a call about a fire at the church’s historic sanctuary, which had been in use since the 1890s. The fire eventually grew to a four-alarm blaze that took more than three hours to extinguish. Fortunately, no one was injured or killed in the fire. . .

But Pastor Jeffress, who is an ardent Trump supporter, told local media that he doesn’t believe his support for the former president is behind the fire.

More importantly, he said Trump is offering his support in the wake of the devastating fire.

“I don’t believe my support for President Trump has anything to do with this fire,” Jeffress told KTVT-TV. “I did receive a nice note from the president, who has spoken here before at our church. He offered his help to do anything he could.” (Read more from “Pastor Reveals What Trump Did After Massive Fire Torches Historic Church Sanctuary at First Baptist Church” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Report: Kamala Harris Secures Support Among Enough Delegates to Become Democrat Nominee

/1 Comment/in , /by

Vice President Kamala Harris has been coasting toward the Democrat Party nomination in the wake of President Joe Biden dropping from the race, earning enough delegates to shore up support.

Biden exited the race on Sunday and immediately endorsed Harris, which prompted waves of support and endorsements from top Democrat officials and fundraisers. According to an Associated Press (AP) survey, several delegations met late on Monday to “confirm their support for Harris, including Texas and her home state of California.”

“By Monday night, Harris had the support of at least 2,471 delegates, according to the AP tally of delegates, more than the 1,976 delegates she’ll need to win on a first ballot. No other candidate was named by a delegate contacted by the AP,” noted the outlet.

Harris told campaign staff in Delaware on Monday that she has confidence her new team will perform well, adding that it is her “intention to go out and earn this nomination and to win,” promising to “unite our Democratic Party, to unite our nation, and to win this election.” . . .

Chairman Rusty Hicks said 75 to 80 percent of the state’s delegation was on a call Monday and expressed unanimous support for Harris. (Read more from “Report: Kamala Harris Secures Support Among Enough Delegates to Become Democrat Nominee” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Republicans Call for Biden to Resign Now That He’s Dropped Out of the Race

/3 Comments/in , /by

Republicans began calling for President Joe Biden to resign the presidency after the president ended his reelection bid Sunday.

Biden announced he would not accept the Democratic Party’s nomination for president in a Sunday afternoon post on X, following it up by endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic nomination. Republicans responded to Biden’s decision to drop out by demanding he resign the presidency.

“If Joe Biden is not fit to run for President, he is not fit to serve as President,” Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana posted on X. “He must resign the office immediately. November 5 cannot arrive soon enough.”

Republican Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, the party’s nominee for vice-president, had questioned whether Biden should remain in office should he end his reelection bid before Biden’s announcement.

(Read more from “Republicans Call for Biden to Resign Now That He’s Dropped Out of the Race” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr