Would-be Trump assassin's online accounts reveal 'furry' obsession: Report

A new report claims that Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old who attempted to assassinate President Donald Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July of 2024, used “they/them” pronouns and appeared to have a “furry” obsession.

The New York Post reported that a source uncovered 17 social media and online accounts linked to Crooks, including accounts on YouTube, Snapchat, Discord, Google Play, Venmo, Zelle, Quora, Google Play, Quizlet, GroupMe, and Chess.com. 

“The danger Crooks posed was visible for years in public online spaces,” the anonymous source stated. “His radicalization, violent rhetoric and obsession with political violence were all documented under his real name. The threat wasn’t hidden.”

While former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Chris Wray told Congress last year that the agency did not find anything on Crooks’ online history to establish a motive or ideology behind the assassination attempt against Trump, The New York Post’s source claimed the 20-year-old’s online activity shows he was “not simply some unknowable lone actor.”

“He left a digital trail of violent threats, extremist ideology and admiration for mass violence. He spoke openly of political assassination, posted under his real name and was even flagged by other users who mentioned law enforcement in their replies,” the source stated. “Despite this, his account remained active for more than five years — and was only removed the day after the shooting.

The source added, “None of this online activity was referenced in the final congressional report released in December 2024, making this even more troubling.”

The New York Post reported that Crooks’ online activity seems to indicate that the would-be trump assassin was interested in “furries” and in transgender ideology. The outlet noted that Crooks described himself with “they/them” pronouns on DeviantArt, which is a popular “furry” art platform used by the “furry community.”

According to The New York Post, two DeviantArt accounts linked to the 20-year-old’s main email address were listed as “eipicmicrowave” and “theepicmicrowave.” The New York Post reported that the accounts appear to indicate that the would-be Trump assassin was obsessed with scantily clad cartoon characters that featured female heads and male bodies.

The New York Post reported that Crooks also appeared to completely change his stance on Trump from 2019 to 2020. The outlet noted that Crooks described Trump as “the literal definition of Patriotism” in July of 2019 before openly criticizing Trump in January of 2020.

In August of 2020, Crooks wrote, “IMO the only way to fight the gov is with terrorism style attacks, sneak a bomb into an essential building and set it off before anyone sees you, track down any important people/politicians/military leaders etc and try to assassinate them.”