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Trump gunman’s high school says it has “no record” of him trying out for rifle team
The high school of Thomas Matthew Crooks, the man who attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump during a rally on July 13, said that it has “no record” of him attempting to join the school’s rifle team.
Former high school classmate Jameson Myers, a member of the Bethel Park High School’s varsity rifle team, told CBS News that the gunman had tried out for the team freshman year but did not make the junior varsity roster and did not return to try out for the team in subsequent years.
The Pennsylvania school refuted this claim in a fact sheet shared online.
“It has been reported that Thomas Crooks was a member of the Bethel Park High School rifle team or tried out for it but was dismissed due to poor performance or because the coach had character concerns,” the school said. “Thomas Crooks was never a member of the school’s rifle team and we have no record of him trying out. The coach does not recall meeting him. However, it is possible that Crooks informally attended a practice, took a shot, and never returned. We don’t have any record of that happening.”
The school also responded to statements that the gunman had been bullied while in high school. Some peers said that he had been an outcast. Myers, who shared the rifle team anecdote, remembered him as a “nice kid who never talked poorly of anyone” and said he was not picked on.
“According to our records, Mr. Crooks excelled academically, regularly attended school, and had no disciplinary incidents, including those related to bullying or threats,” the school said. “Mr. Crooks was known as a quiet, bright young man who generally got along with his teachers and classmates.”
An investigation into the gunman has turned up little in the way of political ideologies, federal investigators told members of Congress last week. Analysis of his devices showed that he had searched for both Trump and President Biden, and had looked up where Trump would speak from during his rally. He had also searched for the location of the Democratic National Convention. On the day of the attack, he searched for photos of the farm where Trump’s rally was held and for a nearby gun shop that is cooperating with investigators, according to CBS News affiliate KDKA.
Investigators have also conducted over 200 interviews, including with family, neighbors and coworkers. All interviewed family members said the gunman never discussed politics or ideology.
CBS News
Decision on Trump sentencing date in “hush money” case coming Friday, prosecutors say
A New York judge is expected to say Friday when former President Donald Trump will be sentenced for falsifying business records to cover up a “hush money” payment to an adult film star.
Trump has twice sought to delay sentencing after his conviction in May by a unanimous jury on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
He was originally scheduled to be sentenced on July 11, but Justice Juan Merchan pushed back that date to Sept. 18 after Trump motioned for the judge to set aside his conviction. Trump cited a Supreme Court ruling that former presidents have immunity for “official acts,” and evidence related to presidential work cannot be included in criminal trials.
Merchan has said he’ll rule on Trump’s request to set aside the jury’s verdict just two days before the currently scheduled sentencing, on Sept. 16.
In August, Trump asked that the sentencing date be pushed back further — until after the presidential election. Trump’s lawyers said another postponement would give his team time to appeal if Merchan rejects their request to set aside the conviction.
While waiting for Merchan’s decision, Trump also pursued another path to delaying sentencing. He asked a federal judge to take over the case, claiming it belongs in federal court. The federal judge rejected that request Wednesday, and Trump appealed.
On Thursday, a lawyer for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg informed the appeals court that Merchan will issue his decision on sentencing tomorrow.
“The judge has now informed the parties that the decision will be rendered tomorrow,” Bragg’s lawyer wrote.
Prosecutors said Trump signed off on a scheme to hide reimbursements to a lawyer who wired a $130,000 “hush money” payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels days before the 2016 presidential election. Trump denied the encounter and pleaded not guilty.
Merchan has wide leeway in determining Trump’s sentence. The charges carry a maximum sentence of up to four years in jail, but this is Trump’s first conviction, so Merchan may also hand down a sentence that involves a variety of alternatives to incarceration, including probation.
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Trump election interference case moves forward
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Sandy Hook shooting survivor discusses what teachers face
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