A Closer Look at the Anti-Trump Veteran Under Psychiatric Care Arrested for Murder of Two Phoenix Teens

An avid anti-Trump Army veteran was charged with the murder of two teenagers who were camping outside of Phoenix.

Law enforcement named their killer, 31-year-old Chandler resident Thomas (Tom) Henry Brown, after linking DNA found at the scene to Brown. Brown is accused of shooting and hiding the bodies of Pandora Kjolsrud, 18, and Evan Clark, 17, in May.

Kjolsrud and Clark were discovered May 27, after authorities were alerted by the teens’ parents that they were supposed to have returned home on May 26 following a day-long camping trip on May 25.

Per his social media posts, Brown was off his controlled psychiatric medication due to VA resignations and appointment waiting times.

On May 29, several days after the discovery of Kjolsrud and Clark’s remains, Brown shared an article from ABC 15 about the two teens, claiming he was camping there with his wife (Nicole) and dog (Snoopy) “days before” the incident.

“Nicole, Snoopy, and I were there days before,” said Brown. “Terrible news, especially with the last days of school just prior.”

However, on May 26 around 1 am, Brown indicated in a Facebook post edited three times that he was still camping in the area. The edit history doesn’t indicate when the original first two posts were made, only that they were also made on May 26.

The original post only included the first two sentences; the first edited version of post added the third sentence about his meal choice, and the second edited version of the post added the final two sentences with details about Brown and his wife bathing their dog.

“I’m regretting staying one more night lol! Got a gang of rando adults playing music and camping next to me though!” said Brown. “Picked up Culvers on the way home, totally worth it! Snoopy gets another treats after having Nicole give him a shampoo/shower tick check and I gave him a conditioner shower/tick check.”

Brown also posted about his camping time on the early afternoon of May 24.

Approximately five months before the murders, Brown said he stopped receiving regular psychiatric care through Veterans Affairs (VA). Brown blamed Trump for the end to his psychiatric care. In another post, Brown indicated he had autism, ADHD, and “THB.”

In an October 1 post on Facebook, Brown expressed anger at the Trump administration “politicizing” the Department of Veterans Affairs. He included a screenshot of a VA News email advising of the impact of the government shutdown on VA health care services. Brown noted in the comments of his post that “the only communication” he received from the VA regarding his care was “nurses reaching out in lieu of doctors” and this latest email.

“Funny, since [DOGE] and Trumpstarted f****** with the VA; it’s been over 200 days since my psychiatrist resigned and every single appointment and subsequent psychiatrist assigned to me has either been separated or resigned, and nurses have had to pick up their duties in communicating with me and making sure I’m good to go,” said Brown.

Brown also posted at the end of April that he was still awaiting a refill of his psychiatric medication promised to him in an appointment several days after last Christmas.

“118 days since my original VA appointment with my psychiatrist to get my controlled meds refilled; good news, I was assigned a new psychiatrist!” said Brown. “However he’s being separated, and I can expect to assigned a new one in approximately ~90 days. Here’s to having a Psychiatrist, appointment, and my meds renewed by 200 days! Stop setting up the VA to fail in order to privatize the healthcare of all veterans for profit.”

In September, Brown lamented the banning of the sub-Reddit group “r/fosscad,” which discussed the 3-D printing of firearms. It was one of the most prominent online communities for “ghost gun” enthusiasts; about 100,000 individuals were members of that group.

Brown made his political views very clear online. He was a supporter of ranked choice voting and opposed to Republican policies including immigration enforcement and restrictions on transgenderism.

As a ranked choice voting supporter, Brown was also critical of Democrats’ approach to challenging Trump as too weak.

His second-to-last post on Facebook made earlier this week was another criticism of Trump, questioning why individuals pay taxes if the executive branch takes actions with which they disagree.

“Why even pay taxes or fund the gov if the executive branch is going to do whatever the f*** it wants with the purse?” said Brown.

Approximately a month before the murders, Brown shared an upside-down photo of his family in front of the American flag with a caption criticizing the deportation of illegal immigrants:

“President of the United States of America is defying the orders from the Supreme Court of the United States in regards to DUE PROCESS while on camera asking the President of El Salvador to build 5 more CECOT Terrorism Confinement Centers for OUR OWN CITIZENS OF THE USA,” wrote Brown.

Brown’s wife, Nicole McKinney, shared similar political sentiments on her own Facebook page. Amid the Black Lives Matter riots, McKinney shared a series of infographics calling certain phrases “racist,” such as: “all lives matter,” “Make America Great Again,” “you are so articulate,” and “I don’t see color.” The graphics said those who use those phrases were “white supremacists” and ignorant.

Brown and McKinney hailed from Minnesota prior to coming to Arizona.