Blackrock released a 2022 ad featuring Trump’s gunman
Screen grab from the ad as posted by A Westgate on X.
Key receivers
BlackRock removes ad featuring gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks from Trump rally. The company expressed relief that Trump was not seriously injured and offered condolences to all victims.
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Black Rock is the 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks who shot and wounded former President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania in 2015. He appeared briefly in the background of a promotional video released in 2022.
Crooks is one of several students featured in an ad filmed at Bethel Park High School for his 2022 graduation, according to Black Rock. Blackrock said Crooks, a registered Republican, was not paid for his appearance and that the ad is not primarily paid for. A teacher from the school presented.
“In 2022, we ran an ad featuring a teacher from Bethel Park High School, with several unpaid students appearing briefly in the background, including Thomas Matthew Crooks,” BlackRock said in a statement.
In response to the incident, BlackRock condemned the attack as “disgusting” and expressed gratitude that Trump was not seriously injured. The company offered its thoughts to the innocent and the victims, especially the person who was killed.
“The assassination attempt on former President Trump is abhorrent. We are thankful that former President Trump was not seriously injured and our thoughts are with the innocent and victims of this horrific act, especially the man who was killed,” the statement said.
Blackrock announced it would remove the ad from broadcast and hand over the footage to the authorities. From A. A video on Westgate X shows the ad in its entirety.
Blackrock and crypto
The communication comes at a sensitive time for BlackRock, which is set to report its second-quarter earnings on Monday. The asset manager has previously faced scrutiny after some of its index funds held shares in gun makers in the US Ammunition. BlackRock has made significant strides in the crypto and blockchain market in recent years, and currently manages the world's largest bitcoin fund.
In January 2024, BlackRock launched the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), which allows investors to trade bitcoin through regular brokerage accounts. The fund attracted about $16.5 billion in assets. BlackRock also introduced a blockchain and tech ETF, launched a token fund on the Ethereum network, and integrated its Aladdin® operating platform with Coinbase's crypto exchange.
At the time of writing, BlackRock's IBIT was up 0.46% by +0.15 points to close at 32.85 per share.
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