A 20-year-old man who plotted to assassinate former President Donald Trump had searched the internet for details about the distance by which John F. Kennedy was assassinated, FBI Director Christopher Wray said Wednesday.
Suspect Thomas Michael Crooks climbed to the roof of a building near the former president’s rally and came within range of Trump’s rifle, killing former volunteer fire chief Corey Comperatore and wounding two other attendees, David Duch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74. Wray told the House Judiciary Committee hearing that an FBI investigation into Crooks’ device uncovered Google searches about the distance between Lee Harvey Oswald and President Kennedy at the time of the assassination. (Related article: ‘I should have died’: Donald Trump reflects on ‘very surreal’ near-death experience)
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FBI Director Wray says Trump shooter was trying to figure out ‘how far away’ Kennedy assassin was pic.twitter.com/os7fOdUJsh
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 24, 2024
“One of the things I can share with you today that I haven’t shared with you yet is that in the last few days, analysis of the laptop that investigators are now linking to the shooter has revealed that on July 6th he Googled ‘how far was Oswald from Kennedy?’ So that’s obviously a significant search in terms of his mental state,” Wray said.
The FBI director added that the search took place on the same day that Crooks is believed to have registered for a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where people planned to assassinate former President Trump.
U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned on Tuesday following the assassination attempt and her avoidance of testifying before the House Oversight Committee on Monday.
“I take full responsibility for any security failings,” Cheatle said in an email to staff Tuesday obtained by The Associated Press. “In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that I have made the difficult decision to step down as director.”
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