Thomas Matthew Crooks, the man who attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump, had an extensive and revealing search history. Crooks had visited the rally location twice before the incident, according to three US officials. His cell phone contained images of both Trump and President Joe Biden, and his search history included dates of the Democratic National Convention and future Trump events.
On the gaming platform Steam, Crooks wrote, “July 13 will be my premiere, watch as it unfolds,” a source told CNN. Investigators are still trying to determine Crooks’ motive for climbing a roof in Butler, Pennsylvania, with an AR-style weapon.
Crooks had also conducted online searches about major depression disorder, officials told Congress during briefings. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, FBI Director Chris Wray, and FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate briefed the House and Senate on the investigation’s progress.
Lawmakers were informed that Crooks’ phone contained pictures of various political figures, including House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, as well as Rudy Giuliani and Fani Willis. Most of these images appeared to be downloaded from the internet without any accompanying threats.
FBI Director Wray announced that the FBI has conducted over 200 interviews and vowed to leave “no stone unturned” in the investigation.
Sen. Mike Lee stated that law enforcement identified Crooks as suspicious 19 minutes before the shooting. Police responded to a call about a “suspicious male” around the time Trump arrived at the rally. Crooks fired several shots from a roof 150 yards from the stage, grazing Trump and killing one attendee before being killed by Secret Service agents.
The Wednesday briefings sparked calls from Republicans for Cheatle to resign. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Republican senators demanded answers regarding the security failures. Cheatle acknowledged her agency’s mistakes and promised to make necessary changes.
Officers did not initially locate the person around the building, according to Knights’ statement. He said an officer then tried to access the roof with the help of a colleague who tried to hoist him up. The officer scaling the side of the building saw an individual on the roof who pointed a rifle at him, Knights said.
“The officer was in a defenseless position and there was no way he could engage the actor while holding onto the roof edge. The officer let go and fell to the ground,” Knights said.
Butler Township Police “immediately” communicated the individual’s location and shared that he had a gun but, “Moments later, the individual commenced firing,” according to the statement.
The FBI director later offered to answer the senators’ questions at another time and moved to leave. At that point, the senators began following her.
