Donald Trump shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks 'searched for the Princess of Wales online' and downloaded images of Kate Middleton to his phone before he tried to murder the former US president, FBI searches reveal
Donald Trump's would-be assassin had researched the Princess of Wales online before he tried to murder the former president, it was reported today.
Thomas Matthew Crooks had downloaded photos of the future queen, FBI analysis of his two phones and laptop show.
Police in the US made the discovery about his apparent fixation with the British royal after searching Crooks' home and seizing his electronic devices in the aftermath of his attack in Pennsylvania last Saturday.
The 20-year-old rifleman had images of the Princess of Wales on his phone, according to National Public Radio. Sources close to the investigation have confirmed this to DailyMail.com.
Crooks had searched for information about the 42-year-old royal in addition to looking at Donald Trump, President Joe Biden, FBI Director Christopher Wray and US Attorney General Merrick Garland.
It is not yet clear why Crooks was looking up Kate - the only non-American in the group of people found in his internet search history.
The Princess of Wales was back in public at Wimbledon last Sunday - just hours after the assassination attempt on Donald Trump
Donald Trump's would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks researched the Princess of Wales, sources have said
Donald Trump (pictured) narrowly avoided being killed by a gunman on Saturday during a rally. He was struck on the ear when he turned his at the last second
The FBI declined to comment when contacted by DailyMail.com. Kensington Palace also declined to comment. The royals never comment on security matters.
The Princess of Wales has only conducted limited public appearances this year as she receives treatment for cancer. There is no evidence that Crooks had plans to travel to the UK.
Her last public appearance was on July 14 – the day after Trump was shot. She received a standing ovation as she headed into the Royal Box at Wimbledon.
The Princess of Wales announced that she had cancer in March and has since being undergoing preventative chemotherapy.
But Crooks’ interest in her was revealed as the FBI searched his two cell phones and one laptop.
On it they found he had searched for dates of Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where he ultimately made his assassination attempt.
There were also searches for the dates of the Democratic National Convention, investigators told a private briefing with lawmakers.
They also found photos of Biden and Trump in Crooks’ material.
Crooks was a dietary aide at Bethel Park Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center - where he provided food and care for post-hospital elderly and sick people
FBI officials in the briefing said that that Crooks' search history indicated he had a strong interest in famous people, sources on the call confirmed to DailyMail.com.
In the aftermath of the assassination attempt of Mr Trump, King Charles wrote to the former president in a letter that was delivered by the British Embassy in Washington DC.
Charles survived his own assassination attempt in 1994.
Then-the Prince of Wales was in Sydney giving a speech at an Australia Day ceremony when a gunman fired two shots at him. It was later revealed to be a starting pistol loaded with blanks.
Footage of the attack 30 years ago went viral on social media after the Trump attack - because Charles reacts so calmly to the man storming on stage and the bang of bullets
The US Secret Service was facing serious questions last night about how a gunman managed to get close enough to shoot the former president.
Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle has been summoned to testify before a committee of the US House of Representatives on July 22. She is facing calls to resign or face the sack.
Last night it was reported that a man believed to be Crooks was spotted by local police acting suspiciously near the security cordon’s metal detectors, according to a senior law enforcement official.
Gunman Thomas Crooks (pictured) had researched a member of the royal family during his assassination planning, the FBI revealed
Donald Trump was seen with blood across his face on Saturday after being shot
The 20-year-old was shot by US Secret Service snipers moments after opening fire on Trump - but major questions remain about how he was not detected before
A radio alert was put out telling officers to keep an eye on him and the information was passed to Secret Service, sources told CNN.
Around five minutes after Donald Trump started speaking, bystanders also attempted to alert police to a figure crawling on a nearby roof clutching a rifle. ‘We noticed a guy army-crawling, bear-crawling, up the roof of the building beside us, 50ft away,’ Greg Smith told the BBC. ‘We could clearly see a rifle.
‘We’re pointing at him, the police are down there running around on the ground, we’re like “Hey man, there’s a guy on the roof with a rifle”. . . and the police did not know what was going on.’
Mr Smith said he tried to alert authorities, but thought they could not see the gunman because of the slope of the roof.
‘I’m thinking to myself “Why is Trump still speaking, why have they not pulled him off the stage”. . . the next thing you know, five shots ring out’, he said.
Another eyewitness, Ben Macer, claimed he saw ‘the guy move from roof to roof. (I) told an officer [the alleged shooter] was on the roof’.
Rally attendees had to pass through metal detectors to ensure they were not bringing in any weapons. But the shooter remained outside the security cordon hiding on a rooftop 433ft away from the stage, raising questions about the size of the perimeter and efforts to sweep the surrounding area.
Former FBI director Andrew McCabe told CNN: ‘One of the most basic elements of site security is to eliminate sight lines to this space where the protectee will be speaking.
‘When you look at that map, it so clearly points to those buildings that are within it, clearly within shooting range.’
The building where the gunman fired from was outside the perimeter of the rally, so it was secured by local law enforcement, not Secret Service agents, said the agency’s spokesman, Anthony Gugliemi. There were four counter-sniper teams covering the rally, two from the Secret Service and two from local police agencies, he added.
Ohio Republican Representative Mike Turner, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee said: ‘I think it’s very frustrating because we believe that our presidents and former presidents or candidates for president have the highest degree of protection.’
Florida Republican representative Mike Waltz claimed on X: ‘I have very reliable sources telling me there have been repeated requests for stronger Secret Service protection for President Trump.’
But Mr Guglielmi said: ‘There’s an untrue assertion that a member of the former president’s team requested additional security resources and that those were rebuffed. This is absolutely false.
‘In fact, we added protective resources and technology and capabilities as part of the increased campaign tempo.’ Kevin Rojek, the FBI special agent in charge of the Pittsburgh office, added: ‘There was no additional request for security that was ever denied by the FBI.’
In a campaign memo, Trump officials told staff last night to stay away from their offices in Washington and Florida while they assess security.
