The FBI announced Monday that it had “successfully accessed” the cellphone of the man who allegedly shot former President Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.
Access to the phone could provide information about what motivated the gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, to scale a building next to where Trump was speaking in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday and open fire on the former president.
The bullet grazed Trump’s ear but did not seriously injure him. A Secret Service sniper shot and killed Crooks at the scene. A man in the crowd was also killed in the shooting and two other attendees were seriously injured, according to the Secret Service.
The FBI also announced Monday that it had completed a search of Crooks’ vehicle and home. In an update to The Associated Press on Sunday, the FBI said it found several bomb-making materials in Crooks’ vehicle and home.
The shooting, which is being investigated as an assassination attempt, has raised concerns among members of Congress about Secret Service security protocols.
“At the end of the day, this was a gross error, enough to make you speculate as to what was intentional and what wasn’t,” Rep. Corey Mills (R-Fla.) said Sunday.
The Secret Service said the suspect fired an AR-type rifle from “an elevated position outside the rally venue,” raising questions about how he was able to get close to the former president. The Associated Press reported that the suspect was on a rooftop less than 150 meters from where the former president was speaking.
President Biden ordered a review of security protocols at Saturday’s rally.
Biden and Trump shared messages of unity after the shooting.
“Only God prevented the unthinkable from happening,” Trump said.
“Now more than ever it is important that we come together, show our true American character, remain strong and determined and do not let evil win,” he said. I wrote in the post “I love this country with all my heart, and I love you all, and I look forward to speaking to this great nation from Wisconsin this week,” he said at Truth Social.
The Republican National Convention in Milwaukee began as scheduled on Monday, with President Trump announcing Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) as his running mate.
