Demolition Ranch host reacts to alleged Trump shooter wearing his shirt: 'Shocked and confused'
Butler, PA - July 13 : U.S. Secret Service agents and counter assault team react moments after shots were fired toward Republican presidential candidate former president Donald Trump during a campaign rally at Butler Farm Show Inc. in Butler, PA on S
A popular firearms influencer whose YouTube videos reach millions said he was "shocked and confused" when he saw Thomas Matthew Crooks wearing a Demolition Ranch t-shirt during the attempted assassination of former president Donald Trump.
"As a lot of you guys know — and we were shocked and confused to find this out — the shooter who tried to assassinate Trump was wearing merch from my channel, wearing a Demolition Ranch T-shirt," Matt Carriker told his 11 million subscribers.
The nearly six-minute long video posted on Monday has garnered over 4 million views. Carriker, a Texas-based veterinarian who runs two firearms channels for gun enthusiasts, said he usually steers clear of political discussions, but the news has thrust him and his business into the spotlight.
"We don’t vet the people who buy our shirts," Carriker said. "I would love to keep people like that from buying, wearing, being associated with that article of clothing…I wish he couldn’t get a shirt, but it happened." he said.
The company's Facebook account featured a photo of a law-enforcement officer, wearing a camouflage uniform and holding a semiautomatic, standing over Crooks' body with the caption, "What the Hell."
On the right sleeve of the 20-year-old shooter's T-shirt is an American flag and the word "DEMOLITIA." At a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday, Crooks opened fire, striking Trump's ear, killing a spectator and wounding two others.
Typical posts on Demolition Ranch's YouTube channel range from "Eating A Meal Cooked ONLY With A GUN!!!" and "Can a Spinning Propeller Stop a Bullet???" featuring Carriker using a propeller as target practice.
"I think the difference in a gunman wearing a pair of Nike shoes and a gunman wearing my T-shirt is this brand is much more personal to me than Nike is to its executives," he said. "To see my name next to the shooter’s name — oh, it sucks and I wish, I wish we could keep that from happening."