Reuters and others are all like "despite being registered republican, HE DONATED TO ACT BLUE WHEN HE WAS A CHILD. THATS 15 DOLLARS OK, SO...THE IMPLICATIONS."
To clarify, someone named "Thomas Crooks" from ZIP 15102 donated $15 to ActBlue in January 2021 (when the shooter would have been 17 years old).
So there's a chance that this isn't the same guy, because without a middle name or additional identifiers, there are plenty of other people with this name whom this could be.
There's also a chance that this was him and his political views have changed in the past 3 years since donating to ActBlue. 17-20 is definitely the age where people break free from their parents' political ideals. It's also when severe mental illnesses can manifest.
Regardless, he registered as Republican and voted in elections after this donation was made, and his voter registration occurred nearly three full years before the assassination attempt, so it's not like he changed his voter registration last minute in an attempt to troll. He's been registered as a Republican since Biden's first year in office, and donating the equivalent of 30 minutes of minimum wage labor to the DNC three years ago isn't really indicative of anything.
I just took a peek at the bad place most of us migrated from, and let me tell you they are REALLY convinced that this 15$ donation (if it was even him) is the most significant thing about this person.
Sorry bro, your account isn't marked as a bot account. I'm citing this comment as a reputable source in an academic paper and there's nothing you can do about it.