Social media account believed to be owned by Trump’s shooter displayed antisemitic and anti-immigrant themes

FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate said a social media account that the agency believes may belong to former President Donald Trump‘s would-be assassin reflected “antisemitic and anti-immigration themes.”

Abbate told senators during a joint hearing with Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security Committee members that in the “2019-2020 time frame,” over 700 comments were posted from an account they believe belonged to Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, who killed one and injured three, including the former president after he opened fire at Trump’s Pennsylvania rally.

“Some of these comments, if ultimately attributable to the shooter, appear to reflect antisemitic and anti-immigration themes to espouse political violence and are described as extreme in nature,” Abbate said.

The revelation of the social media account came during Abbate’s opening statements in which he described a timeline of 90 minutes in which law enforcement personnel were aware of a “suspicious” person but still allowed Trump to take the stage in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe became frustrated at his own agency during the hearing while answering questions from Republicans and Democrats. He pointed to photos of the building that Crooks was able to access without law enforcement knowledge.

“This is from the AGR building. This point of view is the point of view where the countersniper team locally was posted. The gold arrow indicates where the shooter fired from, looking left,” Rowe said with clear emotion in his voice. “Why was the assailant not seen?”

Rowe said he visited the building where Crooks shot at Trump and rally attendees, saying he “cannot defend why that roof was not better secured.”