Trump shooter Thomas Crooks' parents unlikely to face criminal charges, experts say
It's unlikely that the parents of would-be Trump assassin Thomas Crooks will face charges, experts say, especially given Crooks' adult age and legal gun ownership.
Questions about whether the parents of would-be Trump assassin Thomas Crooks could face charges resulting from their son's shooting crimes have arisen as officials release more information about his secluded personality and lack of a social life.
"You'd have to prove in some way beyond a reasonable doubt that [Crooks' parents] aided and abetted his ability to plan this attempted assassination or, in some way, knew what he was doing and provided him some means to do it," Pennsylvania-based attorney Matthew Mangino of Luxenberg, Garbett, Kelly and George told Fox News Digital. "That would be difficult to prove, I would think, beyond a reasonable doubt."
Mangino added, however, that "civil liability is a completely different story."
Pursuing civil action against Crooks' parents would require "a preponderance of the evidence that … they could have or should have intervened to protect, not only the former president, but the public," as well as the victim who died.
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Crooks apparently researched Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley sometime prior to the assassination attempt, a source familiar with the matter previously told Fox News Digital. In Crumbley's case, both of his parents were charged and convicted on four counts of involuntary manslaughter related to their son's crimes. One major difference between the Crumbley case and the Crooks case, however, is Crooks' age.
Crooks was 20 when he was fatally shot by snipers while carrying out the assassination attempt on July 13. The FBI said during a Monday press conference call that Crooks' father legally owned the AR-15 Crooks used to fire at the president and transferred ownership to his son sometime prior to the shooting.
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Crooks also purchased 25 firearms and six chemical precursors "of materials used to create the explosive devices recovered in the subject's vehicle and home" after the assassination attempt, said Kevin Rojek, special agent in charge at the FBI Pittsburgh field office.
Crooks' parents apparently told investigators that he had always been interested in science experiments, so they were used to getting packages addressed to their son at home.
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Crooks' father, Matthew Crooks, was seen on Monday leaving a Pittsburgh office building that houses two law firms.
He declined to answer questions about whether his family had noticed warning signs before his son's assassination attempt.
The shooter's father previously told Fox News Digital that "We're going to release a statement when our legal counsel advises us to do so – until then, we have no comment. We just want to try to take care of ourselves right now. Please, just give us our space."
Brian Stewart, trial attorney at Parker & McConkie in Utah, said "no one" should require parents to supervise an adult "at all times (or at any time)."
Rojek said Crooks' parents have been "extremely cooperative" with the FBI so far in their investigation. FBI officials also do not have evidence suggesting Crooks worked with any coconspirators to carry out his plan.
"If the ongoing investigation were to reveal that Crooks’ father transferred the AR-15 to his son illegally or had some reason to expect it would be used to commit a crime, then criminal charges or civil claims could be possible," Stewart said. "However, so far, the FBI reports that they have not found any information tying anyone else to the attack and do not believe that his parents had any indications of his plans to attempt to assassinate Trump."
Stewart also said that if "any proof is found that the parents were in any way aware of the son’s plans to assassinate Trump, or if the parents were reckless in ignoring any alarming behavior or activities, a case against the parents could be made, and its success would obviously depend on the strength of the evidence."
Nicole Brenecki, a New York City-based attorney, also pointed to Crooks' age as a potential issue in filing criminal charges against his parents.
"Following the sentencing of James and Jennifer Crumbley in the Michigan school shooting case, the DA may consider bringing charges against the father of the Trump shooter. The biggest weakness of such a case would be Matthew Thomas Crooks' age. He was almost 21 at the time of the shooting," Brenecki said.
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The FBI on Monday described Crooks as a "loner" and "highly intelligent," citing his college education and his ability to hold a full-time job. Officials are still working to determine Crooks' motive in the assassination attempt against Trump.