Judicial Watch has acquired heavily redacted documents from the FBI that reveal law enforcement issued a radio warning about an “unknown male acting suspiciously” just before an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.
This release follows a lawsuit filed against the FBI after they failed to respond to a FOIA request concerning the July 13, 2024, attack on President Donald Trump. A year and a half after the incident, many details remain unclear, such as the circumstances leading up to the attempt and information about the gunman.
“It shouldn’t have taken years and a federal lawsuit to get this basic information from the FBI,” someone noted, highlighting a broader concern.
After the FBI didn’t respond promptly, Judicial Watch demanded all documents and communications regarding the would-be assassin, Thomas Matthew Crooks. Consequently, the FBI released 37 pages, though significantly edited, illuminating how aware law enforcement was of the suspicious activities prior to the shooting.
One investigation report outlined a suspicious character wearing a gray T-shirt emblazoned with “Demolition Ranch,” which resembled Crooks’s outfit. This report mentioned that an unidentified individual had been spotted monitoring a law enforcement sniper’s location, prompting multiple officials to reach out regarding this individual’s behavior.
Further investigation led to an incident on July 16 where a Saxembourg Police Department official noted a sniper team was dispatched after observing a “suspicious person” using a rangefinder. Just before the gunfire erupted, the officer reported a radio alert about a “long gun on the roof.”
Various interviews released by the FBI corroborated these accounts, revealing previous sightings of Crooks and his questionable actions before the assassination attempt.
Tom Fitton, Chairman of Judicial Watch, expressed concerns over the Secret Service’s effectiveness in protecting President Trump, stating, “These documents pose new and troubling questions regarding the failure to safeguard the President.” He emphasized that it shouldn’t have required years of litigation to obtain such essential FBI records related to the near-assassination.
