Newly released FBI documents show that Thomas Matthew Crooks practiced a 100-yard shot at a gun club the day before he tried to assassinate Donald Trump at a Butler, Pennsylvania rally in July 2024. The records, obtained by Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley as part of his inquiry, add significant detail about Crooks’ preparation while still leaving the central question unanswered.
What do the documents reveal about his preparation?
The files show Crooks, 20, visited the Clairton Sportsmen’s Club alone the day before the rally, where a club member recalled him “practicing a 100-yard shot.” His father told investigators Crooks had “became increasingly obsessed with guns and long-range shooting,” an interest that developed during the COVID pandemic, and that he took classes at Keystone Shooting Center and bought firearms over a period of months. Staff at the range described him as “an odd duck.” The records also show he ordered gun parts and accessories under the pseudonym “Bob Dole,” including items to increase his rifle’s capacity, which points toward deliberate planning rather than an impulsive act.
What do they say about who he was?
The picture that emerges is of someone intellectually engaged but socially withdrawn. People who knew him described a history buff who could name all the U.S. presidents; colleagues at the nursing home where he worked called him an “odd, young kid” who was nonetheless sweet and “down to earth.” The documents also cover his efforts to minimize his own digital footprint, which is part of why investigators have had so little to work with. His politics don’t resolve neatly in either direction: Crooks was a registered Republican but critical of both parties, and had donated $15 to the Democratic-aligned Progressive Turnout Project in 2021. The files include FBI interviews with his father spanning his childhood, personality, academic record, and political views, plus the detail that an anonymous donor paid for his cremation.
Does this finally explain why he did it?
No, and Grassley said so directly: “We don’t know anything about the motivation [of] why [Crooks] wanted to kill Trump.” That remains the defining gap in the case more than two years on. The new records substantially fill in the how, showing months of firearms acquisition, range practice, and pseudonymous ordering, but nothing released establishes a motive or a triggering grievance. Trump has separately claimed that FBI records from the Wray era were mishandled or destroyed, and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has said the bureau located new Butler information, which is part of what prompted this release.
Sources: NBC News · TODAY · NBC News (video)
