Illinois governor notes signs of ‘white supremacy symbol’ in parade suspect’s background

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) on Sunday noted signs of a “white supremacy symbol” that authorities uncovered about the shooting suspect who killed seven and wounded dozens at a Fourth of July parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park last week.

Pritzker told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” that, despite the link, there was not yet clear evidence of the shooter’s motive.

“There were signs of this white supremacy symbol, that there is evidence obviously of someone who is, was looking to cause harm to people. We don’t exactly know whether it is focused on one particular group or another,” Pritzker said but noted that parade attendees included many people who were Jewish and large contingents of Latino families.

Police revealed last week that the suspect, Robert Crimo III, threatened to “kill everyone” at his home in 2019, leading police to confiscate knives he had collected. But the incident wasn’t enough to trigger the state’s red flag laws because the shooter’s father claimed ownership of the knives.

“There were warning signs, there’s no doubt about it, but nothing that reached the, you know, probable cause or preponderance of the evidence required for there to be a red flag,” Pritzker said.

Family members would’ve needed to come forward, Pritzker said, adding, “They didn’t.”

Pritzker said he believed it was possible Crimo’s father could be held civilly liable but that no final conclusion had been reached by the local district attorney.

Pritzker said on Sunday he would be in favor of updating the state’s red flag law but that family members also need to cooperate with authorities.

“Ban assault weapons, not just in the state of Illinois but nationally,” Pritzker said, adding that high-capacity magazines and weapons such as the one used by the shooter should be kept out of civilians’ hands.

“There’s no reason why someone should have 90 bullets at the ready, 30 in each of the cartridges that he used. That’s just something that I don’t think civilians should have,” he added.

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