The FBI provided additional details about would-be Trump assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks’ activity before and during the July 13 campaign rally that left one man dead.
While the FBI has not established a definitive motive for the shooter or any co-conspirators with advanced knowledge of the attack, they did say Crooks saw the Trump rally in Butler, PA as an opportunity.
The FBI also released photos of Crooks’ firearm, IEDs in the trunk of his car, and the air conditioning unit that Crooks used to gain access to the roof across from the Butler Farm show grounds.
The 20-year-old gunman “became hyper-focused” on Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when it was announced in early July. He had no identifiable political ideology, Kevin Rojek, special agent in charge of the FBI Pittsburgh Field Office said.
Over the month leading up to the attack, Crooks made more than 60 searches related to both President Biden and former President Trump. In late September 2023, an account associated with Crooks “searched the former president’s campaign schedule and upcoming appearances in Pennsylvania,” Rojek said.
“Next, from April of 2024 through July 12, the subject searched campaign events for both former President Trump and President Biden, including events scheduled to take place in western Pennsylvania,” Rojek said. “Specifically on July 4, 2024, the subject searched for details of the former president’s campaign event in Butler.
On July 6, Crooks searched for specific details about Trump’s event in Butler.
“The subject registered to attend the rally, and that same day he specifically searched for, ‘How far was Oswald from Kennedy?’ ‘Where will Trump speak from at Butler Farm Show,’ ‘Butler Farm show podium,’ and ‘Butler Farm show photos,'” Rojek further explained. “On July 8, the subject search ‘AGR international.’ And on July 10, he searched ‘weather in Butler,’ and the 30 days prior to the attack, the subject conducted more than 60 searches related to President Biden and former President Trump.”
He also noted “specific searches conducted on July 5 to include, ‘When is the DNC convention?’ and ‘When is the RNC in 2024?’”
LiveNOW’s Andrew Craft spoke about the new details with Eric Tucker from the AP.
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