Tampa attorney donates $1M to family of man killed during attempted Trump assassination

This story includes reporting by Nicole Rogers .

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Tampa attorney is donating $1 million to the family of a man who died during an attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.

Dan Newlin said he received a call from Trump’s campaign director on Sunday, stating that the former president wanted to raise money for the victims’ families. In addition to the $1 million, he will also be giving $100,000 to each of the families of the victims who were injured.

“I’m very supportive of President Trump and I know he just underwent this attempted assassination, so I said essentially tell him not to worry about anything, I will raise and give the million dollars,” Newlin said.

He said he has been blessed in his life and because he’s in a position to be able to help, he wanted to give back.

“This is not about Democrat, it’s not about Republican, it’s not about being independent, it’s about one American helping another American, and that’s the way I feel about it,” Newlin said. “I’m really excited that I can help make a difference in their lives.”

Newlin will be donating the money directly to the families, and said he wants to travel to Pennsylvania to give the money to the families and meet them.

“As an American, I just felt very compelled to step up and do something amazing for this particular family and the victims,” he said.

Newlin added that he will be at the Republican National Convention from Tuesday through Friday.

investigators are trying to painstakingly piece together how an armed man with no military background managed to reach high ground and get the jump on teams of Secret Service agents.

President Joe Biden has ordered an independent investigation of the attempted assassination. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said he has “full confidence” in the Secret Service’s leadership, but he conceded that the gunman never should have reached that deadly position.

“We are speaking of a failure,” Mayorkas told CNN. “We are going to analyze through an independent review how that occurred, why it occurred, and make recommendations and findings to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Officials say Thomas Matthew Crooks, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania — about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from the shooting — came to law enforcement’s attention when spectators at the Trump rally noticed him acting strangely outside the event.

Investigators have found no threatening comments on social media accounts or ideological positions that could help explain what led him to target Trump.

The agency is investigating the shooting as a potential act of domestic terrorism. It said in a statement Monday that it gained access to Crooks’ cellphone and was analyzing all his electronic devices for a possible motive. Agents also have conducted nearly 100 interviews of law enforcement officials, rally attendees and other witnesses.

Authorities said they believe the gunman’s AR-style rifle was purchased by his father. Kevin Rojek, FBI special agent in charge in Pittsburgh, said investigators do not yet know if Crooks took the gun without his father’s permission.

Crooks’ political leanings were not immediately clear. Records show Crooks was registered as a Republican voter in Pennsylvania, but federal campaign finance reports also show he gave $15 to a progressive political action committee Jan. 20, 2021, the day Biden was sworn into office.

Crooks graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022. Jason Kohler, who said he attended the same high school, said Crooks was bullied at school and sat alone at lunchtime. Other students mocked him for the clothes he wore, which included hunting outfits, Kohler said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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