Eerie new photos of Trump shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks minutes before shooting raise questions about assassination attempt
Eerie new photos of Trump shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks have raised more questions about the failed assassination attempt.
One of the images captures the 20-year-old Crooks perched on a wall in a grassy area on July 13 at the Butler, Pennsylvania rally - just moments before he opened fire.
In the picture, Crooks can be seen holding up his cell phone - as if chatting to someone on a call. Investigators have still not determined what Crooks' motive was or whether he was indeed acting alone.
The other picture captures the moment Crooks turns to look over his shoulder while sitting in the same position. It was unclear what prompted him to turn, or whether he was talking to someone behind him.
Two pictures of Crooks were released to Judicial Watch along with documents that detail the local law enforcement support leading up the rally.
The first photo captured 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks - who appeared to perch in a wall in a grassy area - on July 13 at the Butler, Pennsylvania rally
The other picture captured the moment Crooks turned over his shoulder while sitting in the same position - though it is unclear what prompted the turn, or if he was perhaps talking to someone behind him
The photos have raised questions and sparked theories relating to the attempted assassination.
Crooks was killed by a Secret Service sniper after opening fire at the rally and piercing former president Donald Trump in the ear. One rally-goer was killed in the shooting and two others injured.
There has been prior speculation that Crooks may have been communicating with someone else before he carried out the assassination attempt.
Reports from the FBI stated that Crooks, a registered Republican who had donated to the Democratic Party, acted alone. Their investigation is ongoing.
A conspiracy theory that circulated immediately after the shooting was that there was a female 'accomplice' to the shooter in the crowd.
Though this theory was shut down, there is intriguing video footage to accompany the rumor.
In the video, an unnamed woman appears to be shouting at the gunman, just before he launches his attack.
Theorists claim she screams: ‘Crooks. What are you doing? Get over here. Get down.’
The clip quickly went viral on social media, with some claiming it is clear evidence of an accomplice.
But other viewers have debunked the theory, explaining that the woman is in fact shouting ‘Ross’ not ‘Crooks’.
There has been prior speculation that Crooks did not act alone when he carried out the shooting in Butler... which led to his own death after he was shot by a Secret Service snipe
Another fringe theory posited that the 'deep state' was involved in the assassination attempt. The alleged ‘deep state’ is often accused of secretly manipulating the world to its own gain.
In this case, conspiracists were quick to claim the group were behind the shooting, alleging the attack was a failed attempt to eliminate Trump.
The theory was shared widely, including by notorious conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who took to X to say ‘we are in the middle of a Deep State hot coup’.
Jones also claimed ‘they’ will try again.
Others openly pointed the finger at President Biden, with Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) sensationally posting from his personal X account that ‘Joe Biden sent the orders.’
There is no evidence that Biden — or any group — was involved in the attack on Trump.
Amongst other evidence that raised questions was a remote detonator was found on would-be assassin Thomas Crooks' body alongside his cell phone after he was shot dead.
The remote detonator is seen next to Thomas Crooks' cellphone
The 20-year-old would-be assassin was repeatedly seen and photographed by police officers before scaling their building and opening fire
A picture first published by Pittsburgh's WPXI showed the detonator, a rectangular grey device with a keypad similar to a television remote control, alongside the gunman's cellphone.
It was earlier reported that investigating FBI agents recovered explosive materials, ammo and a bullet proof vest inside of the troubled 20-year-old's car. CNN reports that the bombs were connected to the detonator.
The shooter was behaving strangely around the metal detectors, at least an hour before the attempted assassination, and was later seen using a range finder.
The gunfire rang out at the rally at 6:11 pm. Trump took to the stage at 6:03 pm, an hour later than advertised.
Law enforcement has not commented on what they believe Crooks may have been planning to do after the shooting with the Secret Service facing increasing scrutiny for their inability to secure the event.
