Newly released FBI documents shed light on the background and troubling behavior of Thomas Matthew Crooks, the man who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump in Butler in 2024.
| PULSE POINTS |
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: Newly disclosed Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) documents have provided fresh details about Thomas Matthew Crooks, who attempted to assassinate President Donald J. Trump during a July 2024 campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The records, provided to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley as part of his investigation into the shooting, show that Crooks used the alias “Bob Dole” to receive packages containing parts, tools, and other items intended to increase the capacity of his rifle. 📺 DETAIL: According to interviews with Crooks’s father, his son began using pseudonyms after a family bank account was hacked. His father also said Crooks taught him to use a virtual private network (VPN) and secure browser, and believed that purchases made under a false name could not be traced back to a real bank account. The FBI records portray Crooks as increasingly withdrawn while growing up, with his father recalling that he rarely expressed strong emotions, acted out at school when bored, and later had difficulty communicating with teachers. His father also said Crooks frequently talked to himself, had become more interested in firearms as a teenager, and eventually developed an interest in long-distance shooting, although he initially struggled to hit targets. The documents further state that an anonymous donor paid for Crooks’s cremation after he was killed by counter-snipers in Butler, adding another previously undisclosed detail to the ongoing investigation into the assassination attempt. 💬 KEY QUOTE: “When Thomas was born he did not scream and he was always quiet from that point on.” – Crooks’s father, Matthew Crooks 🎯 IMPACT: The documents raise further questions about what investigators knew about Crooks’s preparation and whether additional warning signs could have been identified before the attack. The revelations come as the Senate Judiciary Committee continues its oversight of the FBI and law enforcement response surrounding the attempted assassination. |
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