Harrisburg, Pennsylvania – Former President Trump is scheduled to meet with the FBI for questioning on Thursday, weeks after an assassination attempt at a campaign rally left one supporter dead and two spectators seriously injured.
The shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, died at the scene after being hit by Secret Service counter-sniper fire.
A law enforcement source said last week that the FBI was seeking a victim statement from the former president, a standard procedure in such investigations. FBI agents have already interviewed dozens of witnesses, former classmates and law enforcement officials, and authorities said the suspect’s parents are also cooperating.
Trump told Fox News this week that the interview would take place on Thursday, a day after he returns to Pennsylvania for a campaign rally in Harrisburg.
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Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump after being injured during an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
“President Trump’s willingness to meet with the FBI on Thursday and interview the victims is a clear signal that he is fully cooperating with the investigation,” said former FBI agent Nicole Parker. “More importantly, in my opinion, it shows his respect for the additional victims in this case — Corey Comperatore, who died, and David Duch and James Copenhaver, who were injured. This is not just about him.”
Experts say Trump doesn’t need to give an interview.
“Because he had already spoken publicly about what happened to him at the Republican National Convention, and because the shooting itself was broadcast live on television, he could easily have refused the FBI’s request for an interview and said it was not necessary,” Parker continued. “That would be entirely appropriate. [but] His cooperation could be key in understanding what went wrong and could also help prevent future assassination attempts.”
Thomas Matthew Crooks is seen on a rooftop moments before attempting to assassinate former President Trump. (DJ Laughery | Insert Image: Via Fox News Digital)
Multiple investigations have been launched into what went wrong and why Crooks was able to reach an elevated spot that gave him a view within 150 yards of the former president and current Republican presidential candidate.
“It’s not really necessary, but it can’t hurt,” said David Gelman, a former prosecutor who is now a private attorney based in New Jersey.
He said investigators’ questioning would be limited to their investigation into the shooting at the rally and that they could not question Trump about unrelated matters, such as previous federal investigations or the Mar-a-Lago attack.
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“They’re not going to ask about anything other than the assassination attempt,” he said. “That’s not allowed. They’re going to ask, ‘What did you see? How did it make you feel?'”
President Trump speaks to supporters in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. (Courtesy of Linda Muslin)
Trump has already spoken publicly about the incident and while investigators may glean something useful from his story, he said it’s unlikely he saw Crooks before the shooter opened fire.
Fox News Digital obtained exclusive subjective video footage from victim James Copenhaver on Wednesday, which shows a figure that appears to be Crooks stalking on a rooftop across from the rally.
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Copenhaver was hit by a stray bullet and hospitalized while standing on the stage behind President Trump, across from the shooter.
Crooks injured 74-year-old Copenhaver and fatally wounded a 50-year-old man. Corey Comperatore David Duch, 57, was seriously injured.
The two survivors have since been released from the hospital.
Multiple investigations are underway by multiple agencies, including the FBI and a select House committee, who are looking into the security failures that allowed Crooks to get onto the roof with a rifle and his motives.
