Thomas Matthew Crooks went by 'they/them' on DeviantArt, linked account reveals 'furry' fetish: report

An online social media account that has been linked to would-be Trump assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks shows the shooter appeared to have a "furry" fetish, and it also described him as having "they/them" pronouns, according to a report from the New York Post. 

The Butler shooter had online profiles on the DeviantArt platform under the usernames of "epicmicrowave” and “theepicmicrowave," the outlet reported. The social platform is an online hub for those in the "furry" community, or those who have an interest in anthropomorphized cartoon animal characters, which is often a sexual fetish. 

The accounts reportedly belonging to Crooks suggested he was obsessed with cartoon characters that had muscular bodies but with sexualized female heads. Crooks also interacted with an account known as "Willy Tepes," a social media profile that was uncovered by Tucker Carlson. The Post reported that the account encouraged violence from Crooks, and, in an October 2025 comment, said he was contacted by Russian and American intelligence agencies.

“People who ask you to contact them when they just as easily could contact you, are Feds. This is how they avoid entrapment. Both American and Russian intelligence does this. I have chatted to both,” the account claimed.