No evidence Trump rally shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks had previous arrests | Fact check
The claim: Trump rally shooter was arrested multiple times
A July 14 Threads post (direct link, archive link) claims the man who fired multiple shots at former president Donald Trump had a history of arrests before that incident.
"Look at the pictures they chose to share of this deplorable," reads the post. "High school pictures where he looks innocent. The man was problematic, arrested more than once, why aren't they sharing his mug shots? Well, we know why!"
It was liked more than 500 times in five days.
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Our rating: False
There is no evidence Thomas Matthew Crooks was ever arrested prior to the attempted assassination. A search of federal and state court records returns no such results.
Trump rally shooter had no criminal history
A day after the attempted assassination, the FBI identified Crooks, a 20-year-old from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as the shooter. Crooks was killed by a Secret Service agent moments after he opened fire.
Since then, more has been learned about Crooks' background. He worked at a nursing home as a dietary aid. He was registered to vote as a Republican. His former classmates described him as a loner who kept to himself and had few friends.
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But there is no evidence Crooks was ever arrested before he opened fire at Trump's rally. He has no criminal record in Pennsylvania, according to a search of that state's court records database. And there is no record of him in the federal court records database either. There are also no credible news reports about Crooks being arrested previously.
In a July 14 statement, the FBI said Crooks was not known to the bureau before the incident. Crooks' motive has remained elusive, though investigators have searched his residence and vehicle and gained access to his phone.
USA TODAY reached out to the social media user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
PolitiFact also debunked the claim.
Our fact-check sources:
USA TODAY, July 17, Trump's would-be assassin had little time to prepare – and left little trace of plot
The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania Web Portal, accessed July 22, Case Search
PACER, accessed July 22, Advanced Party Search
FBI, July 14, Update on the FBI Investigation of the Attempted Assassination of Former President Donald Trump
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: No evidence Trump rally shooter had history of arrests | Fact check