The FBI has refuted claims by Republican lawmakers that the bureau released Thomas Matthew Crooks’ body for cremation just 10 days after the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, last month.
Police have denied the allegations made by Rep. Clay Higgins, a Republican from Louisiana, who said no one at the Butler scene when he requested to view Crooks’ body on August 5 knew that the body had been returned to the suspect’s family on July 23. Higgins said the revelation “has caused quite a stir and revealed some disturbing facts.”
Higgins, who is part of a bipartisan congressional task force investigating the deadly July 13 shooting, made the allegations in a stunning preliminary report that sharply criticized the FBI’s investigation into the incident. Higgins said the release of the body and other allegations of wrongdoing aimed at the FBI amounted to “obstruction of subsequent investigative efforts.”
The FBI has disputed claims that it released the body of Thomas Matthew Crooks for cremation just 10 days after the assassination attempt on former President Trump. Former President Donald Trump (left), Thomas Matthew Crooks (bottom right), and Republican Congressman Clay Higgins (top left). (Main Javin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images; top right Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call; bottom right Fox News)
An FBI spokesperson told Fox News Digital that any suggestion the bureau is obstructing congressional efforts to investigate the assassination attempt is “inaccurate and unfounded.”
The department said Crooks’ body was released to his family “following standard procedures” in coordination with the medical examiner’s office and state and local law enforcement.
Higgins, the former police chief, said that when he visited Butler, Pennsylvania, to investigate the crime scene earlier this month, he asked to see Crooks’ body and discovered it was “missing.”
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“My efforts to examine Crooks’ body on Monday, August 5th caused quite a stir and revealed disturbing facts… The FBI released the body for cremation 10 days after J13. [July 13]” Higgins wrote in a report sent to task force chairman Sen. Mike Kelly (R-Pennsylvania).
“No one knew about this until Monday, August 5th – not the county coroner, not the police, not the sheriff,” Higgins wrote. “Indeed, the Butler County Coroner technically had legal authority over the body, but I have spoken with the coroner and he would never have released Mr. Crooks’ body to the family for cremation or burial without explicit permission from the FBI.”
Additionally, Higgins said the coroner’s report and autopsy report were both “delayed” and, as of August 5, were a week late.
Higgins said the problem with not being able to examine Crooks’ body is that they won’t know for sure whether the coroner’s report and autopsy report are accurate.
“The truth is, we will never know. Sure, we will have reports, photographs, etc., but I will never be able to say with certainty that those reports and photographs are accurate based on my own examination of the body,” Higgins wrote.
As well as releasing Crooks’ body, Higgins also criticised the FBI’s decision to open the crime scene three days later, saying it “shocked everyone”.
Higgins said they did so even though it was common knowledge that Congress would investigate the shooting. It resulted in Trump being hit in the ear. Crooks also killed Corey Comperatore, a highly respected local firefighter who was trying to shield his daughters from the gunfire. The other two victims suffered life-threatening injuries but are expected to make full recoveries.
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“They would have known that disclosing the J13 crime scene would adversely affect their immediate observations of the ensuing investigation,” Higgins wrote.
Higgins also claims the FBI erased biological evidence from the crime scene, which he says is “unheard of.”
“Cops would never do that,” Higgins wrote.
However, the FBI also disputed these claims, telling Fox News Digital that the crime scene was gradually released to landowners and that “nothing was rushed and everything was documented as part of the investigation.”
The FBI also said it arranged for the area where Crooks was killed to be cleaned up, which is standard procedure.
“The FBI is working closely with law enforcement agencies to thoroughly investigate this shooting and is following standard procedures for handling the crime scene and evidence,” the BI said in a statement. “The FBI continues to work closely with the investigation to obtain as complete an understanding as possible of what led to this shooting and is committed to maximum transparency, including reporting to Congress and providing the public with information about our ongoing investigation.”
Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump reacts as multiple gunshots ring out during a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania, Saturday, July 13, 2024. (Reuters/Brendan McDiarmid)
The preliminary report also sheds more light on shocking incidents that could have plunged the country into a political crisis.
Higgins praised local law enforcement, particularly the Butler County Emergency Services Unit (ESU), saying they were professionally staffed and led.
However, Higgins said one concern was that the Secret Service did not retrieve the radios that had been secured by Butler County Tactical Command, despite warnings from the command the day before and the morning of the shooting to do so.
It also emerged that the Secret Service had never assigned an anti-sniper team to any former president, including Trump, prior to July 13.
Higgins said Crooks fired eight shots, all eight shell casings were recovered and are in the FBI’s possession, and that the leaves and branches of two trees provided Crooks with excellent concealment from counter-sniper forces from the North because he was on the roof of the Garr Building.
A screenshot taken by James Copenhaver, one of the victims seriously injured in the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Trump, shows a man believed to be Crooks moving across a rooftop minutes before shots rang out at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. (James Copenhaver)
The ninth shot was fired by SWAT Officer Butler from the ground approximately 100 yards from the AGR Building. The bullet struck the butt of Crooks’ rifle, causing it to break and injuring Crooks in the face and shoulder. Higgins believes the bullet damaged the buffer tube of Crooks’ rifle, rendering the rifle unable to fire after the eighth shot.
“The SWAT officer who conducted this shooting was an incredible guy. Upon spotting Crooks as a moving target hidden amongst the foliage on the roof of AGR, he quickly left his post and ran toward the threat, putting himself in the line of fire as Crooks fired eight shots at him,” Higgins wrote.
Higgins wrote that Crooks “fell” from his firing position when the ninth shot was fired, then recovered and “got back up” a few seconds later.
The tenth and final shot, fired by a Southern Secret Service countersniper team, entered the left side of his mouth and exited near his right ear.
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Police officers surround Thomas Crooks on the roof of the AGR after an anti-sniper shot him dead. (Butler County Police Department)
Higgins also said Crooks did not use a ladder to get onto the roof and ruled out the possibility of a second shooter on top of the water tower. Online video shows a dark figure or shadow on the tower, but Higgins said ESU Commander Edward Lentz had cleared the tower with a drone that morning.
It also said a window below Crooks’ shooting position on the roof of the AGR building did not open, and never did, even after online videos suggested “muzzle flashes” came from it.
“The ‘muzzle flash’ coming from inside the window was either digitally created or an iPhone light or camera flash reflected off the glass,” Higgins wrote.
Higgins said investigators had yet to determine in detail how Crooks became the shooter or how he built the remote-detonation bomb.
“I am not investigating the life or actions of Thomas Matthew Crookes other than his actions in J13. But I will investigate. We will investigate. We are only just getting started, Chairman.”
