Trump Shooter Thomas Crooks Researched for Months Before Zeroing in on Him as a Target: FBI Reports

Former president Donald Trump faced a failed assassination attempt on July 13th while speaking at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The lone gunman, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks was taken down by the Secret Service instantly and the investigation has been ongoing. The FBI revealed fresh, startling information about Crooks on Wednesday, characterizing it as a case of "mixed ideologies." According to CBS News, The FBI's Pittsburgh field office chief, Kevin Rojek, told reporters that the agency "believes [Crooks] engaged in detailed attack planning." 

According to Rojek, Crooks began his search for Trump campaign events scheduled in Pennsylvania in late September 2023 using an internet account. The gunman looked for material on the Republican leader and President Joe Biden's campaign events between April 2024 and July 12. As soon as the Butler event was announced, Rojek alleged that Crooks looked up information about the location, including the "Butler farm show podium." "When this event was announced, the Trump rally was announced, early in July, he became hyper-focused on that specific event and looked at it as a 'target of opportunity,'" Rojek said. 

The gunman looked up information about Trump and Joe Biden about a month prior to the shooting, including the dates of the Republican and Democratic conventions. According to Rojek, accounts connected to Crooks looked at explosive devices as early as 2019 and searched for things like "detonating cord," "how to make a bomb from fertilizer," and "how do remote detonators work." FBI agents have also found that a certain account linked to Crooks contains some antisemitic remarks, and they are investigating whether or not he posted them. 

The FBI revealed information on Crooks' pre-attack activities as well as the events that took place during the shooting. The FBI also talked about the thorough searches Crooks conducted around the event site, which included the building where he was when he fired at Trump. According to CNN, on July 6, nearly a week before the rally, the gunman searched online “where Will Trump speak from at Butler Farm Show” as well as “Butler farm show photos,” Rojek said. The firm "AGR International," which possessed the buildings Crooks scaled before opening fire, was searched two days later. Searches for "ballistic calculator" "weather" and "Butler" were conducted by Crooks on July 9 and July 10, respectively.

Before opening fire, according to Rojek, Crooks was on the roof of the AGR building for six minutes. He restated that the gunman had fired eight rounds and that two had been fired by law enforcement, one by local police and one by a Secret Service sniper. The FBI chief also said that there is no proof that Crooks was struck by the gunshot fired by the local police officer, nor that Trump was shot by a second gunman.

The FBI also interviewed the GOP nominee as part of its probe into the attack, describing the conversation as "productive." Crooks' parents have also been contacted by investigators, and according to Rojek, they have been "extremely cooperative." Crooks fired eight shots before being taken down. Trump was shot in the ear, resulting in injuries, and two other rallygoers also sustained injuries. In the shooting, one individual lost their life.