BlackRock says gunman who shot Trump at rally appeared in firm’s TV ad
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An aerial view shows law enforcement members at the home of 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. He was one of several students who appeared in the background of the 2022 ad.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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NEW YORK - The man who the authorities say shot and injured former president Donald Trump
BlackRock said on July 14 that the ad – which features scenes filmed in the classroom of an economics teacher at Bethel Park High School – had been removed from circulation.
The gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was a senior at the school in 2022 and appears onscreen twice during the 30-second spot. He is seen sitting at a classroom desk, wearing a dark-coloured hooded sweatshirt, and does not speak.
Crooks, 20, was killed by Secret Service agents on July 13 after he fired a semi-automatic rifle at Trump during an outdoor rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. One spectator was killed, and two others critically injured. The authorities have not yet determined a motive.
“In 2022, we ran an ad featuring a teacher from Bethel Park High School, in which several unpaid students briefly appeared in the background, including Thomas Matthew Crooks,” BlackRock said. “We will make all video footage available to the appropriate authorities, and we have removed the video from circulation out of respect for the victims.”
The company called the attempted assassination “abhorrent”, adding: “BlackRock strongly condemns political violence of any kind and will do our part to promote civility and unity in the country.”
The advertisement, titled AP And Honours Economics, was part of a series of television and online ads, begun in the fall of 2022, that BlackRock hoped would explain the company’s work to the broader public.
The ad campaign was introduced after BlackRock faced criticism from Republican state officials for investing with environmental, social and governance, or ESG, goals in mind. Another commercial featured a firefighter in Florida.
The ad set at Bethel Park High School included an onscreen graphic promoting BlackRock’s oversight of retirement plan assets for public school teachers. It concluded with a slogan: “Invested in the Future of Americans.” NYTIMES
