The assassination attempt of President Donald Trump in July 2024 rocked America and changed the course of the presidential race.
Nearly two years later, Fox Nation is taking a close look into the minds of the would-be assassin, Thomas Matthew Crooks, and other violent suspected extremists in a new special hosted by Sean Hannity.
“Radicalized: with Sean Hannity” examines the background of Crooks and other alleged violent extremists, including Luigi Mangione and Tyler Robinson. Hannity highlights the consequences of online radicalization, urging viewers to consider its dangers.
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“They were young men with futures, kids who once walked around on campuses just like this,” Hannity said. “They made plans, they had dreams, and somewhere between the campus gate and their adult lives, something broke.”
The “Hannity” host is joined by an all-star lineup of experts to give more insight into how these young men traveled down the road to infamy. Author and former FBI special agent Nicole Parker dissected Crooks’ online activity and how he was “very isolated” in his room at home.
“Thomas Crooks was known to be not really social,” she said. “He wasn’t known to have very many friends. In fact, he was kind of a loner.
“Had no known official psychiatric diagnosis or mental health issue, but he was doing a lot of online searches about major depressive disorders. So, clearly he was suffering.”
Dr. Drew Pinsky, a media personality and addiction specialist, took a more scientific approach to describing Crooks, noting his isolation may have increased his risk of accepting extremist political and cultural views.
“Radicalization really doesn’t start with ideology; it starts with psychological pain,” Pinsky said. “We finally, in my profession, acknowledge that adverse childhood experiences affect mental health and put people at risk of a number of problems, radicalization being one of them.”
In November 2024, the FBI concluded that Crooks, who was killed by a Secret Service counter sniper team, acted alone in an attempt on Trump’s life in Pennsylvania. The announcement came after thousands of interviews across the globe, tracking down any potential connections with the 20-year-old shooter.
Running parallel with online radicalization concerns are domestic terrorism risks.
A 2023 U.S. Government Accountability Office study showed all but eight states experienced one or more incidents between 2010 and 2021. During the same period, investigations into domestic terrorism incidents have increased by 357%.
“Radicalization is both a mental health issue and a social issue,” Pinsky said. “Young men need their peers, they need outlets, they need to be engaged. And left in a room alone, only bad things can happen.”
Don’t miss the chance to uncover the disturbing mentality of Crooks, Mangione, Robinson and others in “Radicalized: with Sean Hannity,” streaming now exclusively on Fox Nation.
