Pennsylvania
In swing-state Pennsylvania, Latino-majority city embraces chance to sway 2024 election
Religion and politics frequently overlap in Reading, an old industrial city in one of the most pivotal swing states of this year’s presidential election.
In Pennsylvania, there is early precedent for this kind of thing. The state began as a haven for Quakers and other European religious minorities fleeing persecution. That includes the parents of Daniel Boone, the national folk hero born just miles from Reading, a town where the Latino population is now the majority.
Today, the Catholic mayor is also a migrant — and the first Latino to hold the office in Reading’s 276-year history. Mayor Eddie Moran is keenly aware of the pivotal role Pennsylvania could play in the high-stakes race, when a few thousand votes in communities like his could decide the future of the United States.
“Right now, with the growing Latino population and the influx of Latinos moving into cities such as Reading, it’s definitely an opportunity for the Latino vote to change the outcome of an election,” Moran says. “It’s not a secret anymore.”
A community of spirituality — and Latinos
In Reading, the sky is dotted with crosses atop church steeples, one after the other. Catholic church pews fill up on Sundays and many stand for the services. Elsewhere, often in nondescript buildings, evangelical and Pentecostal congregations gather to sing, pray and sometimes speak in tongues.
Outside, salsa, merengue and reggaeton music (often sung in Spanglish) blast from cars and houses along city streets first mapped out by William Penn’s sons — and that now serve a thriving downtown packed with restaurants proudly owned by Latinos.
This is a place where, when the mayor is told that his town is 65% Latino, he takes pride in saying: “It’s more like 70%.”
They believe in their political sway. A Pew Research Center survey conducted in 2022 found that eight in 10 Latino registered voters say their vote can affect the country’s direction at least “some.”
On a recent Sunday, Luis Hernandez, 65, born in Puerto Rico, knelt to pray near the altar at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church. Later, walking out after Mass, Hernandez said he’ll vote for Trump — even on the very day of the former president’s criminal convictions related to hush money for a porn star.
“Biden is old,” Hernandez says, and then reflects on how Trump is only a few years younger. “Yes, but you look at Trump and you see the difference. … Biden’s a good man. He’s decent. But he’s too old.”
In the weeks after he spoke, many more Americans would join in calls for Biden to withdraw from the race after his debate debacle, which crystallized growing concerns that, at 81, he’s too old.
Immigration is a key topic
It’s not just about Biden’s age or debate performance. It’s also, Hernandez says, about the border crisis. He says too many immigrants are arriving in the United States, including some he considers criminals. And, he adds, so much has changed since his Dominican-born father arrived in the 1960s — when, he says, it was easier to enter and stay in America.
For some, there are other issues as well.
“It’s the economy, immigration and abortion,” says German Vega, 41, a Dominican American who became a U.S. citizen in 2015. Vega, who describes himself as “pro-life,” voted for Trump in 2020 and plans to do so again in November.
“Biden doesn’t know what he’s saying. He doesn’t know what he’s doing, and we have a country divided,” Vega says. Trump is “a person of character. … He looks confident. He never gives up; he’s always fighting for what he believes.”
Of course, there are some here who just don’t favor taking sides — except if it’s for Jesus. Listen to Pastor Alex Lopez, a Puerto Rican who cuts hair in a barber shop on the first floor of his home on Saturdays, and preaches on the second floor on Sundays.
“We’re neutral,” he says. “We just believe in God.”
A city with deep industrial roots resurges
Reading was once synonymous with iron and steel. Those industries cemented the creation of the Reading Railroad (an early stop on the Monopoly gameboard) that helped fuel the Industrial Revolution and became, in the late 19th century, one of the country’s major corporations.
Today, the city of about 95,000 people, 65 miles northwest of Philadelphia, has a fast-increasing population. However, it is one of the state’s poorest cities, with a median household income of about $44,000, compared to about $72,000 in Pennsylvania.
Reading is 67% Latino, according to U.S. Census figures, and home to high concentrations of people of Dominican and Puerto Rican heritage — as well as Colombians and Mexicans, who own restaurants and other businesses around town.
Political candidates are taking notice of Reading’s political and economic power. The 2020 presidential election in Pennsylvania was decided by about 82,000 votes, and — according to the Pew Research Center — there are more than 600,000 eligible Latino voters in the state.
It’s true that Reading still leans mostly Democratic — Biden crushed Trump in the city by a margin of about 46 percentage points in 2020. However in that election, voting-age turnout in the city (about 35%) was significantly lower than the rest of the state (about 67%).
But the Trump campaign doesn’t want to miss out on the opportunity to turn it around. It recently teamed up with the Republican National Committee and Pennsylvania GOP to open a “Latino Americans for Trump” office in a red-brick building near the Democratic mayor’s downtown office.
Moran has made a plea to Biden and other Democrats to take notice and visit Reading before the election. It’s crucial, he says.
“I think that it’s still predominantly Democratic,” he says. “But the candidates need to come out and really explain that to the community.”
One development, Moran says, is that religious leaders are now less hesitant to get involved in politics.
“Things change, even for churches,” he says. Clergy “realize the importance that they hold as faith-based leaders and religious leaders and they’re making a call of action through their congregations.”
The message: Get out and vote
A few blocks from St. Peter’s, a crowd gathers inside First Baptist Church, which dates to the late 19th century.
In a sign of Reading’s changing demographics, the aging and shrinking congregation of white Protestants donated the building to Iglesia Jesucristo es el Rey (Church Jesus Christ is the King), a thriving Latino congregation of some 100 worshippers who have shared the building with First Baptist for nearly a decade.
Pastors Carol Pagan and her husband Jose, both from Puerto Rico, recently led prayer. At the end of the service, microphone in hand, the pastors encourage parishioners to vote in the election — irrespective of who they choose as the president.
“The right to vote is,” Carol Pagan says before her husband chimes in: “a civic responsibility.”
After the service, the congregation descends to the basement, where they share a traditional meal of chicken with rice and beans.
“I believe the principle of human rights have to do with both parties — or any party running,” Carol Pagan says. “I always think of the elderly, of the health system, of health insurance, and how it shouldn’t be so much about capitalism but more rights for all of us to be well.”
Both of the Pagans make clear that they won’t vote for Trump. They’re waiting, like others, for circumstances that might lead Biden to withdraw, so they can support another Democratic candidate.
“It’s our duty to shield that person with prayer — it doesn’t matter if that person is a Democrat or a Republican,” Carol Pagan says. “We owe them that.”
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Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Senate hopeful in the GOP spotlight after witnessing Trump assassination attempt
Pennsylvania Republican Dave McCormick is set to take the stage at the Republican National Convention Tuesday night along with other Senate candidates. But his speech might sound a little different.
McCormick has updated his planned remarks to address Saturday’s attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, according to a source familiar with his speech. Unlike the other Senate hopefuls, McCormick witnessed the shooting firsthand.
Just three days ago, McCormick was seated in the front row of Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and took cover as the gunman opened fire.
“Lots of energy and lots of positive noise and then all of a sudden, just shattered with these rifle shots,” McCormick told NBC News Saturday night. “And it was just sort of — people were in disbelief. It was very chaotic and very confusing for quite some time.”
McCormick is in a hotly contested race against Democratic Sen. Bob Casey in a state that is key to both the race for the White House and the battle for the Senate. And while it’s yet not clear if or how Saturday’s shooting will affect elections this fall, any effects may be felt particularly strongly in Pennsylvania.
“I think because this incident occurred in Pennsylvania, you would imagine it’s going to have more of an impact in Pennsylvania than other places,” said Mike Barley, a former executive director of the state GOP.
The shooting did have a temporary impact on the Senate race: Casey’s campaign began working with local TV stations on Saturday evening to temporarily take down its ads. Campaign spokesperson Maddy McDaniel said in a statement that the ads will resume “in the days ahead to educate Pennsylvanians on Senator Casey’s record, his opponent’s record and the stakes of this Senate race.”
On Monday morning, McCormick also called on Casey to agree to “suspend negative advertising.” (McCormick did not call on outside groups, which cannot coordinate with campaigns but launch many of the negative spots, to cease their attacks as well.)
Saturday’s shooting could also raise more immediate concerns about security at upcoming campaign events.
”Safety needs to be top of mind,” said GOP state Rep. Stephenie Scialabba, who was next to McCormick on Saturday when the gunman opened fire.
“We’re all standing there, having these discussions about the future of the country. And next thing you know, we’re making eye contact under folding metal chairs, counting the shots and trying to determine where they’re coming from,” she recalled.
Scialabba said McCormick helped shield her and told her, “I got you,” confirming her account to the Butler Eagle.
“It’s like his combat training kicked in and he was able to get us all out of there,” Scialabba said, referring to McCormick’s service as a former Army officer and veteran of the Gulf War.
Scialabba said she is concerned about attending future campaign events, but she plans to go anyway “out of pure defiance.” She echoed other elected leaders and called for “extra thought” into language used in campaigning “to tone down this rhetoric.”
Both Casey and McCormick have also called for lowering the temperature.
“We have consequential differences; we should debate them robustly,” McCormick wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed Sunday. “The left and right have vastly different visions, and both fear the consequences of losing. So let’s have that conflict—but let’s commit to keep it inside the context of elections, civil debate and policymaking.”
Casey told CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, “We all have a role to play … both as citizens and as elected officials. What we should be categorically condemning is violence of all kinds, political violence or otherwise.”
It remains to be seen if cooling down rhetoric is even possible in today’s ever-warming political climate — especially in a battleground state as critical as Pennsylvania.
Some Pennsylvania political operatives were cautiously optimistic.
“Sen. Casey has always shown that he’s run campaigns based on substance, not style. And look, McCormick, in all honesty, strikes me the same way,” said Pennsylvania Democratic strategist Mike Mikus, who is not working with Casey. “This race was never going to be an over-the-top battle royale. It was always going to be based on differences both on policy and background.”
Barley, the former state party leader who is not working with McCormick, also said a more positive campaign is possible “because of the unique nature of the two people.”
“I think they’re both generally gentlemen. And they like to campaign that way,” Barley said — though he added that the candidates cannot control the largely negative ads that come from outside groups.
Pennsylvania GOP strategist Vince Galko, who is not involved in the Senate race, said there could be “more civility, more issue-based campaigning” in the short term. But Galko noted McCormick will also have to make his case against the incumbent.
McCormick has continued to draw a contrast with Casey, telling CNBC on Monday that his message to voters is: “If you think the status quo is OK, if you think we’re on a good path, then you should vote for my opponent. Sen. Casey, he’s been there a long time. He’s voted with President Biden 98% of the time. If you think we need to make really significant changes on the border on economic policy, on criminal justice, on America’s role in the world, on energy policy — then, then pick me.”
Casey and his allies, meanwhile, have also been working to define McCormick, highlighting McCormick’s business record and his Connecticut residence.
Aside from some potentially less hard-edged messaging, it’s not yet clear if it could have a broader impact on the Senate race.
McCormick faces a tough race against Casey, the son of a former governor who was first elected to the Senate in 2006. While Republicans argue the race will tighten as McCormick becomes better known, Casey has performed better than President Joe Biden in recent polling.
A Pennsylvania survey from New York Times/Siena College, conducted last week, prior to the shooting, and released Monday, finds Casey at 50%, leading McCormick by 11 points among registered voters and 8 points among likely voters. Casey’s leads are outside the survey’s margins of error for both groups. The survey found Trump leading Biden by 3 points among both groups of Pennsylvania voters.
Casey has historically fared well in Western Pennsylvania, even as Republicans have made inroads in the Trump era among blue-collar voters in the industrial areas surrounding Pittsburgh.
That part of the state is also where Saturday’s shooting took place.
“That’s the most important place in the whole race,” GOP strategist Brad Todd, who is working with McCormick’s campaign, said of Western Pennsylvania.
“There will be a whole lot of people in Butler and the surrounding counties who know people who were there, who’ve heard firsthand accounts,” Todd said, later adding, “I don’t know if that results in more engagement, if it results in more people paying attention, if it’s more enthusiasm.”
“I don’t know how it will change,” Todd added. “But I have to believe it will change.”
Pennsylvania
Trump shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks' parents registered Pennsylvania professional counselors: Records
BETHAL PARK, Pa. – The parents of the 20-year-old who unleashed a barrage of gunfire toward former President Trump are licensed professional counselors through the Pennsylvania social work board.
Mary Elizabeth Crooks and Matthew Brian Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, are licensed as professional counselors, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State Licensing System Verification service.
The 20-year-old attempted assassin’s parents both have active licenses, the service said.
Both Mary and Matthew’s licenses expire in February 2025, and they have been professional counselors since 2002, the records showed.
BREAKING INTO TRUMP SHOOTER’S CELLPHONE COMPLICATED BY MODERN TECHNOLOGY: EXPERT
An undated image of Thomas Matthew Crooks. (Handout via AFP)
Licensing information on Thomas Crooks’ parents (Pennsylvania Department of State)
Thomas’ family home is now the subject of an ongoing FBI investigation after the shooting on Saturday at a Trump rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania.
SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM REVEALS DETAILS OF SUSPECT’S ACCOUNT WHO TRIED TO KILL TRUMP
Crooks’ motive in the shooting remains unclear.
Records showed Crooks was registered as a Republican voter, but campaign finance reports also showed he gave $15 to a progressive political action committee on Jan. 20, 2021, the day President Biden was sworn into office.
An unidentified man answers the door at the home of 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, named by the FBI as the “subject involved” in the attempted assassination of former President Trump, in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, on July 15, 2024. (REUTERS/Aaron Josefczyk)
Crooks’ bullet grazed Trump’s right ear and left firefighter Corey Comperatore dead.
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Crooks’ was stationed approximately 130 yards away in an “elevated position.”
Neighbor of Thomas Crooks speaks out
Kelly Little of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania tells Fox News Digital she rarely encountered the Trump shooting suspect’s family despite living across the street.
Clairton, Pa. – The Pennsylvania gun club where would-be Trump assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks practiced his aim was open Monday after visits from the FBI amid a probe into the deadly security breach that let an armed madman within 130 yards of the former president.
It was not immediately clear whether investigators found anything of evidentiary value at the range, and members condemned the suspect and his actions as something their community is “not about.”
A lawyer for the Clairton Sportmen’s Club previously distanced the members from Crooks.
FORMER SECRET SERVICE AGENT WARNS AGENCY ‘STRETCHED THIN’ WITH NEW RESPONSIBILITIES, LACK OF MANPOWER
A view of the Clairton Sportsmens Club, where Thomas Matthew Crooks, named by the FBI as the “subject involved” in the attempted assassination of former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, was a member, in Clairton, Pennsylvania, U.S. July 15, 2024. (Carlos Osorio/Reuters)
“Obviously, the Club fully admonishes the senseless act of violence that occurred [Saturday],” attorney Rob Bootay said in a statement. “The Club also offers its sincerest condolences to the Comperatore family and extends prayers to all of those injured including the former President.”
The club is one of several in the area where members take part in sports shooting events and promote firearms safety.
The FBI’s visit comes as the bureau looks to identify a motive and is scrutinizing newly obtained data from the suspect’s phone.
PENNSYLVANIA TRUMP RALLY SHOOTING SUSPECT PICTURED AFTER DEADLY ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT
A view of the Clairton Sportsmen’s Club, where Thomas Matthew Crooks, named by the FBI as the “subject involved” in the attempted assassination of former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, was a member, in Clairton, Pennsylvania, U.S. July 15, 2024. (Carlos Osorio/Reuters)
Law enforcement sources with knowledge of the situation told Fox News that Crooks fired a DPMS AR-15 5.56 at Trump and the bystanders. His dad bought the weapon in 2013.
It’s at the FBI’s forensics lab in Quantico, Virginia, along with his phone, laptop and at least one improvised explosive device from his car, according to the sources.
HERO TRUMP RALLY VICTIM COREY COMPERATORE DIED SHIELDING FAMILY AND ‘WOULD’VE DONE IT AGAIN,’ FRIEND SAYS
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surround by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
The development comes as investigators broaden their search for a motive and potential helpers of the suspect.
“FBI technical specialists successfully gained access to Thomas Matthew Crooks’ phone, and they continue to analyze his electronic devices,” the FBI said in a statement Monday afternoon.
Searches of the suspect’s house and vehicle wrapped up Sunday night.
PENNSYLVANIA TRUMP RALLY ATTENDEE SPEAKS ON ‘EXTREMELY LAX’ SECURITY MEASURES AFTER ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT
This graphic shows a bird’s eye view of the Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, as well as the alleged would-be assassin’s vantage point. (Fox News)
The bureau also said the FBI had interviewed nearly 100 witnesses, including members of law enforcement.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to submit tips at http://tips.fbi.gov or 1-800-CALL-FBI.
TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT BEING INVESTIGATED BY FBI AS POTENTIAL DOMESTIC TERROR
Bethel Park School District can confirm that the alleged shooter in the July 13, 2024, assassination attempt on former President Donald J. Trump is a graduate of Bethel Park High School. Thomas Matthew Crooks graduated from Bethel Park High School with the Class of 2022. (Bethel Park School District)
Crooks had no prior criminal record and no documented history of mental illness, authorities said.
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Dave Katz, a former federal forearms instructor and the CEO of Global Security Group, said if anyone had seen red flags before the attack it would have been people he spent the most time with – including friends, family, co-workers and classmates.
“If the shooter can manage an air of normalcy going to and from the range, where’s the red flag?” he told Fox News Digital. “Look at the Aurora [Colorado] theater gunman. He went to a range three days before, and the owner threw him out — because he wasn’t behaving normal.”
Fox News’ CB Cotton, David Spunt and Jake Gibson contributed to this report.
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