The FBI on Wednesday released further details about the activities of potential Trump assassin Thomas Crooks before and during the July 13 campaign rally in which one man was killed.
Although the FBI has not yet identified a clear motive for the shooter or any co-conspirators with prior knowledge of the attack, Kevin Rojek, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, told reporters in a press conference that the crooks “made a sustained and detailed effort to plan an attack on a specific event. That is, he looked at any number of events or targets.”
The 20-year-old shooter was “overly focused on Trump’s rally in Butler” when it was announced in early July. He has no discernible political ideology, Rojek added.
In the month before the attack, Crooks conducted more than 60 searches related to President Biden and former President Trump. In late September 2023, an account linked to Crooks searched “the former president’s campaign schedule and upcoming appearances in Pennsylvania,” Rojek said.
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A photo shows the air conditioning unit that Thomas Crooks used to get to the roof before the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI))
“Next, the suspect searched for campaign events of both former President Trump and President Biden from April 2024 through July 12, including events specifically scheduled to take place in Western Pennsylvania on July 4, 2024. On July 9, he searched for ‘ballistic calculator,'” Rojek said.
On July 6, he sought concrete details about Trump’s event in Butler.
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A photo shows Thomas Crooks’ semi-automatic rifle and backpack as they were likely transported after the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI))
“The perpetrator registered to attend the rally and on the same day specifically searched for ‘how far was Oswald from Kennedy?’, ‘where will Trump speak at the Butler Farm Show?’, ‘Butler Farm Show podium’ and ‘Butler Farm Show photos,'” Rojek continued. “On July 8, the perpetrator searched for ‘AGR International.’ And on July 10, he searched for ‘weather in Butler,’ and in the 30 days before the attack, the perpetrator conducted more than 60 searches related to President Biden and former President Trump.”
He also mentioned that on July 5, “specific searches were conducted, including ‘When is the DNC convention?’ and ‘When is the RNC in 2024?'”
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A photo shows two explosive devices found in the trunk of Thomas Crooks’ car after the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI))
The FBI confirmed that Crooks was seen by a number of vendors outside the rally site at 4:26 p.m. on July 13, about an hour and a half before Trump began his speech.
Video footage from a local company showed the crooks climbing the American Glass Research (AGR) building between 6:05 and 6:08 a.m. and then crossing several roofs.
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“Overall, we determined that the perpetrator was on the roof for only about six minutes before the shooting. Between 6:05 p.m. and 6:11 p.m.,” when he was neutralized, Rojek said, later refuting rumors that there was a second shooter.
On the day of the rally, Crooks flew a drone for 11 minutes, between 3:51 p.m. and 4:02 p.m., Rojek told Fox News Digital.
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The FBI’s observations of the drone’s flight path indicate that it “would have been helpful for our target to assess the security situation at the event,” said the special investigator in charge.
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“However, we will never be able to find out the exact motivation of why the person flew the drone,” Rojek added. “We can only do that based on our assessment of the flight path and what we can determine through our analysis in the lab.”
