"We Will Remove All Ads"... US Asset Management Firm 'Startled' by Trump Shooter's Appearance

Appearing as One of Several Students in Video
Black Dog Quickly Issues Statement Amid Concerns of Fallout

Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old man who targeted former U.S. President Donald Trump, is reported to have appeared in an advertisement for the global asset management company BlackRock. On the 15th (local time), foreign media including the New York Post and the New York Times reported that Matthew Crooks appeared as one of several students in the background of a BlackRock advertisement from 2022. The 30-second ad featured Crooks attending economics and other classes at his school at the time, showing him taking notes and interacting with his teacher.

20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, who targeted former U.S. President Donald Trump
[Photo by AP·Yonhap News]

The advertisement was filmed at Bethel Park High School, from which Crooks graduated in 2022, and it is known that Crooks appeared in the ad without receiving any payment. BlackRock announced that it has provided the related video to authorities and will cease its distribution. However, it is reported that the video still remains on various social networking services (SNS). The two teachers appearing in the advertisement have refused to comment on the incident. In a statement regarding the shooting incident involving former President Trump, BlackRock said, "The assassination attempt on former President Trump is horrific," and "We mourn the innocent victims and those who lost their lives in this incident."

The Motive Remains Unconfirmed as the Crime Was Committed Solely by Crooks

Open-source analysts reported that Crooks did not use mainstream SNS platforms such as Instagram or Facebook, and his online activity traces are extremely minimal. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) stated in a briefing that this incident was a lone act by Crooks and that there is no additional threat to the public. However, authorities have yet to determine the motive behind the assassination attempt.

Matthew Crooks was reported to have appeared as one of several students in the background of a BlackRock advertisement in 2022. The 30-second commercial featured Crooks during an economics class at his school, where he was seen taking notes and interacting with his teacher.
[Photo by New York Post]

Crooks is reported to be registered as a Republican in the Pennsylvania voter registry. However, on January 20, 2021, the day President Biden was inaugurated, he donated $15 (about 20,000 KRW) to a progressive voter organization. The Bethel Park nursing home in Pennsylvania, where Crooks is said to have worked, reported that he was employed as a nutrition aide. A center official stated, "Crooks worked without any particular issues, and his record was clean."

Meanwhile, the New York Post pointed out that BlackRock had been investigated in the past after shooting incidents in the U.S. because some index-linked funds held stocks of firearm manufacturers. Additionally, former BlackRock employees are known to hold key positions in U.S. President Joe Biden’s economic team. Adewale Adeyemo, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, worked as an assistant to BlackRock Chairman Larry Fink, and Brian Deese, the early chairman of the White House National Economic Council (NEC), was an executive in BlackRock’s sustainable investment team.