A 20-year-old man who reportedly planned to assassinate Donald Trump is suspected of using a drone to spy on the Pennsylvania State Fairgrounds ahead of the Republican presidential candidate’s speech last weekend as part of a plot.
According to law enforcement officials briefed on the incident, the gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, programmed the drone to fly over Butler Farm Showgrounds before attempting to assassinate the 78-year-old former president. According to the Wall Street Journal:.
Investigators also believe that Trump flew remote-controlled planes around the rallies multiple times as he was planning the attack, adding to the Secret Service’s stunning failure to protect him.
According to the media, Crooks allegedly programmed the drone to fly over the rally along a “pre-determined route” to get a better idea of the venue’s layout.
A drone was found in Crooks’ car after he fired shots at President Trump and was shot dead.
The Secret Service reportedly did not use drones itself to monitor the incident.
It is unclear when the perpetrator flew the drone or how many times he flew it before launching the vicious attack.
Sources familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal that Crooks, described by friends as intelligent but shy, began researching venues shortly after the Trump campaign announced the rally on July 3 and applied to attend on July 7.
He reportedly kept an eye on the farm in the days before President Trump’s arrival and is also believed to have explored the sprawling grounds by bicycle at the Butler County Agricultural Show.
Crooks fired a semi-automatic AR-style rifle from the roof of a building 130 yards from where Trump was speaking at 6:11 p.m., fatally shooting Trump in the ear.
The gunman fired at least six shots, killing Corey Comperatore, a former volunteer firefighter and father of two, and severely wounding David Duch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74, before being shot and killed by Secret Service agents.
What we know about the attempted assassination of President Trump
- 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks has been identified as the shooter who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
- Crooks was shot and killed by a Secret Service agent.
- The gunman grazed President Trump’s ear, killed a 50-year-old former fire chief and wounded two other people at the rally.
- Investigators detailed Crooks’ search history to lawmakers, revealing that he sought out dates for speeches by President Trump and the Democratic National Convention.
- FBI officials said the criminal’s search history also revealed a broad interest in famous people and celebrities, regardless of political affiliation.
- “I was supposed to be dead,” Trump told The Washington Post exclusively at the rally, describing how he survived the “surreal” assassination attempt.
- Prominent politicians, including President Biden and Vice President Harris, addressed the nation about the shooting, calling it a “heinous, horrific and despicable act.”
Investigators later found two homemade bombs with receivers apparently designed to be detonated by remote control, as well as a bulletproof vest and three 30-round magazines in the suspect’s car parked near the compound.
It has been speculated that he wanted the event to cause even greater carnage.
police I began to suspect Crookes. More than an hour earlier, Trump had been seen wandering around the edge of the crowd with a rangefinder and a backpack, and the Secret Service designated him a “threat” 10 minutes before he was due to take the stage.
Despite being labelled a “questionable character”, the former president was still allowed to speak.
Crooks was not listed as having a gun at the time the alert was issued, sources said.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Crooks is also accused of receiving multiple packages marked “dangerous goods” at his home in recent months.
Sources told The Post on Thursday that before the shooting, Crooks had been using the internet to track Trump’s movements going back to the spring.
Authorities have yet to find conclusive evidence that Crooks was motivated by any particular political ideology in plotting to assassinate the 2024 Republican presidential candidate.
The mentally unstable young man was reportedly socially ostracized and had few friends, and internet research suggests he may have also been suffering from an undiagnosed mental illness, possibly depression.
But the attacker left little to no social media or online footprint, forcing investigators to comb through his devices, including a laptop, two mobile phones and a USB drive, which contained a combined 4.5 terabytes of data.
