FBI releases photos, new information in Trump assassination attempt
This image provided by the FBI shows Thomas Matthew Crooks’ rifle broken down as was likely done for transport and the backpack recovered at the scene in Butler, Pa., July 13, 2024. Crooks searched online for events of both former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden and saw the Pennsylvania campaign rally where he opened fire as a “target of opportunity,” a senior FBI official said. (FBI via AP)
The FBI has released new photos from its investigation into the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump and new details on the shooter.
The FBI says its investigation into the shooting at Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13 remains ongoing, and says it has still not identified a motive or evidence that the gunman, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, worked with any others.
But the FBI said Crooks searched online for events of both Trump and President Joe Biden, repeatedly looked up information about explosives and saw the Pennsylvania campaign rally where he opened fire last month as a “target of opportunity.”
This image provided by the FBI shows Thomas Matthew Crooks’ rifle as recovered at the scene in Butler, Pa., July 13, 2024. Crooks searched online for events of both former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden and saw the Pennsylvania campaign rally where he opened fire as a “target of opportunity,” a senior FBI official said. (FBI via AP)
The FBI has confirmed that Trump was struck in the ear by a bullet during the attack. Crooks, who was positioned on the roof of a nearby building, fired eight shots before being killed by a Secret Service counter sniper.
Investigators who have conducted nearly 1,000 interviews believe that Crooks conducted “extensive attack planning.”
This image provided by the FBI shows two improvised explosive devises as initially discovered in Thomas Matthew Crooks’ car at the scene in Butler, Pa., July 13, 2024. Crooks searched online for events of both former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden and saw the Pennsylvania campaign rally where he opened fire as a “target of opportunity,” a senior FBI official said. (FBI via AP)
The FBI analysis of his online search history reveals a “sustained, detailed effort to plan an attack on some event, meaning he looked at any number of events or targets,” Kevin Rojek, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, told reporters Wednesday.
Once a Trump rally was announced for July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania, “He became hyper-focused on that specific event and looked at it as a target of opportunity,” Rojek said. Crooks’ internet searches in the days leading up to the rally included queries about the grounds where the rally was held, “Where will Trump speak from at Butler Farm Show?” “Butler Farm Show podium and ”Butler Farm Show photos.”
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is helped off the stage at a campaign event in Butler, Pa., on Saturday, July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
The new details add to an emerging portrait of Crooks as a man who investigators say had taken an eerie interest in explosives, major events and prominent political figures, but whose internet searches across major parties have frustrated efforts to assign a simple motive.
“We have a clear idea of mindset, but we are not ready to make any conclusive statements regarding motive at this time,” Rojek said.
(Copyright 2024 The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
