7, 2020, pro-Trump rally in Highland Park in front of the Veterans Memorial on Central Avenue a few months before the presidential election.Īs it happened, I was in Highland Park that day and covered and took pictures at that rally, reporting for future stories.
HIGHLAND HIGH SCHOOL PROFESSIONAL
That’s according to Rachael Wachstein, a Highland Park resident, marketing professional and human rights activist who saw him at pro-Trump events.Īfter Crimo’s photo was made public on July 4, Wachstein said she recognized him, from his tattoos, as the man who had acted strangely at these rallies and at one, “got up in the faces of two of my friends, one of whom was the founder of Black Lives Matter Lake County and the other a former Highland Park High School student, both of whom were African Americans.” Other clues about Crimo can be gleaned from his behavior - at times aggressive - at four pro-Trump demonstrations in Highland Park, Deerfield and Northbrook in 2020. Segal wrote: “Our assessment of the Highland Park shooter’s online footprint suggests there is no clear evidence -at least, not yet - that he adhered to any political, extremist or hate-driven ideology.Īs for the “Attack47” hateful posts, Segal wrote: “Assuming those posts were not doctored - a possibility about which we always need to be mindful - there is nothing in them that, in our interpretation, can be clearly connected to the shooting.” Writing in The Forward, a Jewish publication, Oren Segal, vice president of the ADL’s Center on Extremism, explained why the “ADL doesn’t yet see a clear extremist connection in Highland Park.” She turned over what she found to the FBI, she told me. I looked at screen grabs of these posts captured by a private investigator - who started looking for Crimo’s Internet trail as soon as his name became public on July 4. Site administrator Christopher Wilson told me: “The site has been and is currently cooperating with authorities, beyond that I am unable to comment further.” On June 25, 2022, “Awake47” posted, “the math is all screwed, the logistics of 6m jews doesn’t make sense, but I’m just retarded.” On June 28, “Awake47” posted, “I say we just get rid of the blacks all together.” On July 2, “Awake47” posted twice - first a note saying “retarded jews” followed by “orientals should be gassed then washed.” In May and June, there are pictures posted under “Awake47” of a man who appears to be Crimo. “Awake47” posted on a site called DocumentingReality. While Highland Park is heavily Jewish, the parade-goers included people from neighboring Highwood, home to a substantial Hispanic and Italian American population.Ĭrimo has very distinctive tattoos on his face and neck. Unlike other mass shootings, the Highland Park killer did not leave a manifesto or pick a target with unquestionable implications - such as the October 2018 slaughter a t the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, where the shooter murdered 11 people and the authorities labeled it an anti-Semitic attack. But toxic online behavior offers clues in this case, not conclusions about motive.Įxperts on extremism, such as the Anti-Defamation League, caution against jumping to a judgment based only on the four vile posts I describe below.
I’ve looked at videos Crimo made, and they are disturbing. Everyone wants to learn more about Crimo, who will appear Wednesday in a Waukegan courtroom, facing 110 charges of murder, attempted murder and aggravated battery.
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