FBI has gained access to Thomas Matthew Crooks’ phone in Trump assassination attempt

The FBI announced that it had successfully accessed the cellphone of Thomas Matthew Crooks, the suspect in the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday.

“FBI technical experts were able to gain access to Thomas Matthew Crooks’ cell phone and continue to analyze his electronic devices,” the FBI said in a press release.

A law enforcement source with knowledge of the situation told Fox News that the weapon used by Crooks, a DPMS AR-15 5.56, is currently being held at the FBI’s forensic science lab in Quantico, Virginia, along with a cellphone, a laptop and at least one improvised explosive device found in his car.

The FBI has completed a search of Crooks’ home and vehicle, and more than a dozen guns were found inside. Fox News has confirmed that Crooks’ family is still cooperating with the FBI.

Attempt to assassinate President Trump at Pennsylvania rally leaves two injured, including the shooter, two dead

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.) and Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) met with FBI Deputy Director Robert Wells on Monday.

A committee spokesperson provided Fox News with a statement on the current status of the investigation and what the future holds.

“The FBI is focusing on the shooter, his motives, potential connections, building a timeline of events, and related matters, while the Secret Service is conducting a separate review of security protocols. Chairman Greene is pleased that the FBI has conducted nearly 100 interviews to date and has access to the shooter’s phone. Chairman Greene has been assured by EAD Wells that the FBI intends to be transparent with Congress throughout the investigation. Chairman Greene will schedule a site visit, if possible, once the scene has been processed, and, like Committee Members, looks forward to receiving a briefing from the USSS as soon as possible.” – House Homeland Security Committee Spokesperson

The FBI said it conducted about 100 interviews with police officers, event attendees and other witnesses, and also received hundreds of tips from digital media, including photos and videos taken at the scene.

Police began investigating Crooks and the shooting shortly after Saturday’s attack. Investigators visited Crooks’ home and his parents’ home on Sunday and Monday. Investigators are investigating the incident as a possible assassination attempt and domestic terrorism.

Trump breaks his silence Regarding Monday’s assassination attempt, he said he was alive “by luck or by God.”

“I’m not supposed to be here. I’m supposed to be dead,” Trump told the New York Post. “I’m supposed to be dead.”

“The doctors at the hospital said they’d never seen anything like this, it’s a miracle,” Trump told the paper aboard his private jet en route to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for this week’s Republican National Convention. “A lot of people are saying it’s either luck or God, but it’s God that I’m still alive.”

Who Was Thomas Matthew Crookes? What We Know About the Trump Assassin

Trump told The Washington Post that the bullet that grazed him would have been fatal if he had not tilted his head slightly to the right to read a chart about illegal immigration.

Trump told The Washington Post that the bullet that grazed him would have been fatal if he had not tilted his head slightly to the right to read a chart about illegal immigration. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Republican convention kicks off two days after assassination attempt on Trump

He called the Secret Service agent who charged toward him a “linebacker” and said another agent took him down with “one shot between the eyes.”

The Fiserv Forum will be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on July 14, 2024, the eve of the opening night of the Republican National Convention. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

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“They’ve done an amazing job,” he told The Post. “It feels surreal for all of us.”