Conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch on Friday released FBI records that reveal would-be Trump assassin Thomas Crooks was involved in an altercation before the shooting.
Thomas Crooks was able to climb on the roof of the AGR building, put President Trump in his scope from an elevated position, and fire his weapon at Trump.
A countersniper killed Crooks.
President Trump was shot in the ear, and firefighter Corey Comperatore was fatally shot.
According to the newly-released FBI documents, Crooks made “hateful comments” directed at Trump before he climbed to the roof of the AGR building at shot Trump.
Judicial Watch reported:
Judicial Watch announced today that it forced the release of 27 heavily redacted pages from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit that show that would-be Trump assassin Thomas Crooks was reportedly involved in an altercation with a group of people and making “hateful comments” directed at President Trump at the Butler, PA, rally site before the July 13, 2024, assassination attempt.
A July 17 FD-302 investigative report states that a woman who attended the Trump rally was interviewed by the FBI and reported that Crooks “had an altercation with a group of people in the area [where the woman was standing] prior to the shooting.” The witness continued that “she observed Crooks climbing the building a short time after the interaction.”
The report shows that another rally attendee interviewed by agents said he also heard the altercation involving Crooks at the rally. The report states, “[Redacted] reported just before Donald Trump came on the stage, CROOKS was making ‘hateful’ comments toward Trump. [Redacted] wasn’t sure if Crooks was filming the event or speaking with someone on his cell phone.”
A July 17 FD-302 investigative report shows that a woman contacted the National Threat Operations Center (NTOC) to report that she had attended the Trump rally in Butler and that she had seen a “suspicious individual” at the rally who was acting “very nervous” in the parking lot and she took a picture of the license plate of his Hyundai vehicle.
“It should not have taken two years and a federal lawsuit to find out that the Butler shooter was involved in an altercation with Trump supporters and made hateful comments towards Trump at the Butler rally minutes before he nearly killed Trump. These new FBI documents are disturbing and astonishing, detailing more conduct by the shooter that should have gotten the attention of Secret Service,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.
BREAKING: FBI Reports Uncovered by @JudicialWatch Lawsuit Reveal Butler Shooter Got Into Altercation With @RealDonaldTrump Supporters and Made Hateful Comments About Trump Minutes Before Assassination Attempt! https://t.co/8F64teEAfT
— Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) April 17, 2026
The FBI last year concluded that Thomas Crooks acted alone.
The so-called ‘security lapses’ and circumstances surrounding the assassination attempt against Trump raise questions about how Thomas Matthew Crooks was able to pull everything off by himself.
Thomas Crooks flew a drone over the Butler fairgrounds at least twice on the day of the Trump rally.
He flew his drone at approximately 3:50 – 4:05 pm that day – during the time the Secret Service was having connectivity issues.
A photo of Thomas Crooks was taken shortly before he somehow managed to get up onto the roof of the building.
At 5:14 pm, just one hour before the assassination attempt of Trump, a member of the Beaver County sniper team took a photo of Crooks checking his cell phone.
Local law enforcement took photos of Thomas Matthew Crooks before he attempted to murder President Trump at the Butler, PA rally. (Source: Preliminary findings/Ron Johnson)
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The post Judicial Watch Obtains FBI Records that Reveal Would-Be Trump Assassin Thomas Crooks Involved in Altercation Before Shooting appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.