The FBI explained Wednesday how Donald Trump’s future assassin had researched campaign events for the former president as well as President Joe Biden, but then “hyperfocused” on the Pennsylvania rally just 40 minutes from the shooter’s home.
The FBI has released new photos of the gun used to shoot Trump at the July rally, as well as photos of his backpack and explosives the shooter had in his car.
Kevin Rojek, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, said the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, viewed the Trump rally as a “target of opportunity.” Authorities have not yet identified a motive and have said Crooks expressed “no definitive ideology.”
Those searches, Rojek said, also show Crooks’ detailed research into the rally location, including the building where Crooks shot Trump.
On July 6, nearly a week before the rally, Crooks searched online for “where Will Trump would speak at the Butler Farm Show” as well as “Butler Farm Show podium” and “Butler Farm Show photos,” according to Rojek.
Two days later, Crooks searched for “AGR International,” the company that owned the building Crooks had climbed into before opening fire. On July 9, Crooks searched for “ballistic calculator,” and the next day, he searched for “weather” and “Butler.”
Regarding Crooks’ motivations, Bobby Wells, executive assistant director of the FBI’s national security branch, said investigators have a “clearer picture of the mindset” but that “at this time, the FBI has not identified a motivation, nor any co-conspirators or associates of Crooks who had detailed knowledge of the attack.”
Rojek said: “We don’t see any definitive ideology associated with our subject, whether left or right.”
