Thomas Matthew Crooks, who attempted to assassinate US presidential candidate Donald Trump, made more than 60 information requests to find information about the Republican candidate, the FBI said. According to the agency, the requests concerned not only Mr Trump but also incumbent US President Joe Biden. They were made about a month before a campaign rally in Pennsylvania in July.
An FBI spokesman, quoted by Reuters, said that Thomas Matthew Crooks ‘carefully considered’ the plan of his assassination attempt on Donald Trump. According to the FBI version, before opting for a Republican rally in Pennsylvania, he considered attacking ‘some other large gathering.’
ABC News reports that as part of the investigation, the FBI has conducted nearly 1,000 interviews with witnesses in the case, issued dozens of subpoenas and analyzed hundreds of hours of video footage. Thomas Matthew Crooks' online actions were examined from 2019 to 2024. The FBI has not yet established a definitive motive for his actions. However, there is no evidence that foreign organizations were involved in the incident, the agency added.
The assassination attempt on Donald Trump was carried out on 13 July. Thomas Matthew Crooks fired eight shots from an AR-15 rifle from the roof of a building located about 120 meters from the podium behind which the politician was speaking. The former US president was shot in the ear. One attendee of the rally was killed and two others were injured. Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was killed by a US Secret Service sniper.
