Trump assassination attempt investigation

Newly released federal documents turned over to the Senate and reported by the New York Post offer fresh detail on Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old who tried to assassinate President Trump at a July 2024 Butler, Pennsylvania rally before being killed by Secret Service agents, having already fatally shot one bystander and wounded two others. FBI interviews show his father described him as having no real friends through middle and high school despite socializing with classmates, and noticed him talking to himself in the months before the attack; an unnamed acquaintance told investigators Crooks would pace and dance alone at night for hours, grew increasingly agitated after starting community college, and once gave an unconvincing explanation for possessing a jug of liquid he claimed was for cleaning a 3D printer. Crooks had used the alias 'Bob Dole' to receive packages after his father's bank account was hacked, and an anonymous donor paid for his cremation shortly after his death.

Former FBI agent Jonathan Gilliam, reviewing the records, said they show Crooks 'spiraling into almost a manic or delusional state' and argued his motive shouldn't be considered settled. FBI Director Kash Patel told a Senate Oversight hearing there is no evidence Crooks communicated with anyone besides his parents, though the documents note the Bureau contacted at least one foreign government during its investigation without detailing why. Crooks, a straight-A student who had been admitted to Robert Morris University to study mechanical engineering, had taken several firearms courses and been seen shopping for ammunition and firearms with two unidentified men in the weeks before the shooting.